The Truth about Life
by lapizlazuli
Summary: Karen's life seems just about perfect, that is until a farmer arrives that will change her perspective of everything and change her life... add a crazy chicken boy and you got drama. 100 percent COMPLETE, oh yeah!
1. Springs arrival

1.Springs arrival

As Karen sat on Mothers Hill next to Rick, she was truly happy. She gazed at the beautiful starlit sky, like sparkling diamonds on a black velvet pillow. Rick smiled at her and she smiled back as he shyly reached for her hand. His smile was so warm that even the chilling winter wind could not cool Karen's skin. Finally the Mayor announced it was midnight and all the members of mineral town cheered and embraced.

"Happy New Year!" Rick said warmly. Karen blushed and replied with a peck on Rick's lips. The New Year had finally arrived and Karen was ready for it, or so she thought...

Mineral town was more like a small island than a town, with a population of only about twenty people on the island. It was remote with what many would call a perfect farming climate. Separated from the rest of the world, mineral town was still traditional and pure, untouched by the everyday evils of the real world. They knew little of world affairs and so most were happy with it that way. Karen hated how remote it was, she worked in the general store with her parents selling the townspeople general supplies. Every day she had the same routine unless the store was closed or it was a festival. The only thing that kept her sane was Rick. Although he wasn't tall, dark and handsome or particularly good-looking in any way, he was a good guy. He was caring and loving and best of all he thought Karen was the most wonderful person in the whole world.

It was Spring 1st, Karen woke up and lazily gazed out of the window. The beginning of each season brought dramatic change in the weather and already beautiful yellow flowers had popped up. Suddenly Karen's mother Sasha burst in with a smile on her face.

"Karen, someone new is arriving on the island! Come and meet them!" Sasha exclaimed excitedly. "_Someone new?" _Karen considered it, probably some old women who had found the city smog too much for her. Still it was more exciting than normal village life. She quickly dressed into her short jean-shorts and white T-shirt with purple jacket. She brushed her hair and teeth and smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She ran downstairs to see Sasha waiting impatiently. The two rushed to mineral beach to get a glance at the new comer. Half the village was there excitedly awaiting the newcomer, Karen spotted an excited Popuri, who had tied up her pink hair.

"Oh my gosh, a new person! Can you believe it Karen?" She asked beaming. She cocked her head seeing Karen frown.

"Sort of, it'll probably just be some old person!" She said calmly. Popuri considered it and smiled anyway. There was a thud as the boat knocked the dock and out stepped a young man. He was tall, dark and handsome with a muscular body, brown hair and a smile that made Karen melt. His delicious chocolate coloured eyes surveyed the people watching him. If he was surprised by fifteen pairs of eyes staring at him in awe, he didn't show it.

"Hi, I'm Jack. I moved here from London to take over my Granddads farm...erm... thank you for welcoming me." He announced. He had a smooth voice that to Karen was the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard. After saying this he walked straight to the farm. Jack, he had the same name as his Grandpa who had passed away two years ago. As Karen walked home she thought about how gorgeous Jack was and whether thinking that was like cheating on Rick.

A few days had passed since Jacks arrival and Karen was daydreaming, as usual, at the general store. Jack walked in and began browsing the seeds.

"Hi, can I help you?" Karen asked smiling dreamily.

"Oh erm... yes please. What seeds would you recommend for spring planting?" He asked looking at the fall seeds.

"Well..." She said pointing to the spring seeds, "I would definitely suggest the cucumber seeds, since they grow all season." She pointed to the packets and he nodded and picked one up.

"I'll take one." He said putting three-hundred gold on the counter.

"Okay, easy big spender." She teased and melted as he smiled.

"Thank you." He said smoothly.

"You're welcome." Karen replied, feeling the warmth from his smile. He picked up his seeds and turned to leave when Karen stopped him.

"Also, take these grass seeds on me, as a sort of welcome-to-the-village gift." She said blushing.

"Really? Thanks a lot." He said grinning and taking the seeds gratefully. Karen nodded and asked him about the farm. They talked for a little while and then Jack asked,

"Karen, erm... I've heard the Goddess festival as Friday. Would you like to go with me?" Karen wanted to say yes but she'd said she would go with Rick. She shook her head and sadly explained about her and Rick. Jack managed a small "oh" and then muttered about having to go. He said goodbye and trudged off sadly. Karen felt bad, but she had promised to go with Rick, besides Rick sort of was her boyfriend.

The eve of the Goddess festival arrived so Karen and Popuri were braiding flowers into their hair as was the custom. Popuri wore a bright bubblegum pink dress that made her look like the cotton candy princess. Karen wore a shimmering silver-purple dress that her mother used to wear to the goddess festival.

"Rick's real excited about going to the dance with you Karen." Popuri said braiding a blue flower into Karen's hair. Karen forced a weak smile, she should be happy, she loved Rick.

"I wish Kai were here. I don't have a dance partner." Popuri said pouting.

"Why didn't you ask Jack?" Karen asked. If she couldn't go with Jack he should at least get to go with Popuri.

"Nah, he's nice and all, but he just can't replace Kai." She said dreamily. Karen nodded and smiled. She found it sweet how devoted Popuri was to Kai.

When they arrived at the square Karen spotted Rick. The square was decorated beautifully. The ordinary red-pink bricks were covered with the pretty yellow flowers that grew in spring. Strings of flowers joined the lampposts and fairy lights were dotted about. Karen walked over to Rick and gently tapped him on the shoulder.

"Heya." Karen said happily. Rick grinned and gazed at Karen, her beauty astounded him.

"You look...wow. I'm the luckiest guy on earth!" Rick said sweetly. Karen's emerald eyes shone in the flames of the fairy lights as she smiled.

The dancing began and Karen and Rick prepared to dance the night away. But Popuri sat on the sidelines looking distraught and Rick's brotherly instincts kicked in.

"Karen..." Rick began. Karen knew what he was thinking, she sighed and nodded. She watched as Rick pulled Popuri onto the dance floor. She walked over to a bench and sighed again, "every year" she thought. Jack walked over and sat down next to her, he flashed her a perfect smile in an attempt to make her feel better.

"Would you care to dance?" Jack asked in a charming tone of voice holding his hand out to her. Karen glanced at Rick and watched him twirl Popuri.

"Sure." She said and took his hand. They danced gracefully and Karen felt like she was floating. Jack twirled her, he was an excellent dancer, just like princes out of story books. But Karen knew this was reality and Jack was not supposed to sweep her off her feet, after all, she had Rick.

When the evening was over Karen walked home feeling light and fuzzy. She had had a wonderful evening and Jack had been...perfect. She felt a little bit confused though, she was beginning to have feelings for Jack. She sighed, _"What happens, happens."_ She thought. The next morning she met Rick on the bench next to the store as usual. She was silent and Rick looked at his feet the whole time.

"I'm sorry I didn't dance with you Karen." He said timidly.

"No problem." Karen said shortly, she tried to sound uncaring, knowing that would get to Rick the most. Rick talked for ages about his chickens and Karen daydreamed about Jack. There was only so much you could listen to about chickens.

"Oh, I'd better go." Karen said glancing at her watch. Rick looked disappointed but nodded and stood up. They said goodbye and Karen entered the shop.

"Put it on my tab." Duke said to Jeff as Karen walked in the door. Jeff sighed and reluctantly noted down the price. Karen glared at Duke.

"I think you should pay us for once, Duke." Karen said defiantly.

"I'll pay you after the wine harvest, little lady." Duke said grinning slyly. Karen scowled at being called little lady.

"You said that last year and the year before, but you never did!" Jeff pointed out shyly. Karen nodded and stared daggers at Duke. Suddenly Jack entered humming a happy tune then stopped abruptly. He then looked as though he wished he hadn't.

"What's...up guys?" He asked trying to sound cheerful. Karen explained the situation angrily.

"So do you think Duke should pay us?" Karen asked sweetly batting her eyelashes. Jack looked hesitantly around the room, a huge dilemma was flashing through his mind. But one look at Karen told him what he had to do.

"Duke you should pay off your tab. If not now, then definitely after the harvest." He said looking at Karen for approval. Duke huffed and grabbed the cigarettes and bread he had brought and stormed out flashing Jack an angry glare.

"Thank you Jack..." Karen said. Jack smiled sheepishly and reddened a little.

"Well...umm... bye." Jack said and turned to leave.

"Wait, what did you come in for?" She asked, hoping desperately for him to stay.

"I...umm...oh yeah, bread." Jack said thinking deeply. He brought the bread and flashed Karen a smile. Karen blushed and dreamily watched him leave. Jeff coughed. His cough sounded oddly like "Rick" and Karen scowled at him.

"Shut up." She snapped and stormed up to her room.

After a week of Karen avoiding him Rick decided to visit Karen while she was at the Goddess pond.

"Hey Kar!" He said happily. Karen nodded, showing she noted his presence.

"Have you been avoiding me? You haven't visited me." Rick asked accusingly. Karen ignored him and stared into the waterfall.

"Kar..." He said weakly. Karen turned and looked sadly at Rick. She gazed at him with puppy-dog eyes.

"Why would I avoid you Ricky, I love you." Karen said sweetly. Rick smiled shyly and pecked her on the cheek. _"Sweet, gullible Rick." _Karen thought. Rick left and Karen stared into the bubbling waters of the Goddess pond. She kneeled in front f the pond and stared into its waters.

"Oh Goddess, what am I doing. I can't have them both and I can't keep hurting them. I love Rick so much but Jack... I can't stop thinking about him. I'm so sorry, please help." She begged the waters of the pond. The water continued to babble and the birds sang happily so she headed home, _"Stupid useless Goddess." _She thought.

The month of spring saw the winning of the horse race for Jack and Karen eating a celebration dinner alone with him. It saw the cooking festival and Karen losing as usual with a concoction of burnt fish, jam and something brown and fuzzy that had been in her fridge for god knows how long. Karen had still been unable to choose between her childhood friend and love or the charming and handsome farmer. She knew she couldn't tell Popuri about her colliding feelings, but she couldn't keep them bottled up either. So she decided to talk to her rough, tough tomboy best friend Ann. Although very unladylike, Ann was great at giving advice.

Karen entered the inn. It was empty as usual for 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Ann greeted her, in her usual blue overalls.

"Ann, I need your advice." Karen admitted taking a seat at one of the oak tables. Ann nodded in understanding and went behind the counter to get them some drinks.

"We'll need alcohol." Ann said picking out some cider.

"...Or we could have coffee..." Ann said, a devious smile on her face.

"...and make it Irish!" They said together grinning. Ann put the kettle on and searched for the right drink. She poured some orangish liquid into a cup with some coffee beans followed by hot water. Karen took a long sip, like nectar to her mouth.

"So spill, what's up?" Ann asked.

"Boy troubles." Karen said grimly. Ann gasped and sat intently waiting for details. After an hour of uninterrupted explaining, Ann began to think silently.

"Jacks a really great guy, if I didn't know he liked you I might have gone for him. However, Rick is crazy about you and has loved you for years and can you imagine the scandal if you dumped him?" Ann said, pausing for effect.

"So..." Karen prompted.

"So I can only give you one piece of useless advice...follow your heart."

"Follow my heart huh? That's corny Ann. But it's all I've got so thanks Ann." Karen said, she finished her coffee and left...to follow her heart. Still unable to decide between the farmer and the chicken boy.


	2. A hot, hot summer

Why hello there, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, if you didn't, well you have my humblest of apologies. If you did however like it, I love you... well love is a little strong... so erm... like then. So ya, anyway this is my first harvest moon fanfic, so please try not to hate me or anything. It's kinda depressing at times i guess, depends on your outlook on life... but anyway enjoy...

2.A hot, hot summer

One day out of all mineral town's festivals was better than any swimming costume fashion show...beach day. A day when the women got to watch men in their small swimming trunks all day and watch them compete against each other. It was a hot summers day, Karen was wearing her itsy, bitsy, teeny, weeny purple polka-dot bikini which she enjoyed watching her mother scowl at. They headed out to the beach and Karen spotted Mary wearing a reserved navy blue swimming costume. Karen trotted up to her and flashed her a grin.

"Looking forward to seeing Gray in swim shorts?" Karen asked slyly. Mary blushed and turned very pink.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about." She said flushing. Karen nodded sarcastically and patted her on the back. When they reached the beach Karen spotted Rick wearing small red swim trunks. He looked skinny and bony, Karen felt a little embarrassed to be seen with him. She then spotted Jack who looked like a God in his black swimming shorts. She drooled at his golden tan, defined muscles and six-pack.

"Jack, hey!" Karen said walking straight past Rick, ignoring the hurt look on his pale, pasty face.

"Hey, whoa you look great!" Jack said grinning and Karen blushed happily. She spotted Popuri with Kai, cuddled against him looking joyful. She had often been jealous of Popuri since Kai was a lot better looking than Rick. He had a brown tan with big muscles and gorgeous brown eyes. But now with Jack in the picture he seemed far less god-like. _"One point to Jack" _Karen thought.

"Karen..." Jack said snapping her out of her daydream. Karen looked at him, his brown eyes glinted in the sunlight.

"Good luck in the race, hope you win!" She said before realizing what she had said. Shouldn't she hope that Rick would win? She watched as the men took their positions and waited for the race to start. The Mayor fired a pistol and the men thrashed in the water heading to the buoy in the sea. Rick was coming near last, as usual but she could see Jack and Kai up front battling for first place. They swam around the buoy neck and neck at the final lap heading to the shore. They both looked so graceful, streaming across the water like dolphins. Jack took on a burst of speed towards the end and touched the shore victorious. Kai came second and stood up out of breath.

"Awww, Kai only came second." Popuri said pouting. Kai shook hands with Jack grinning.

"I've finally found someone who can beat me, great job dude!" Kai exclaimed clapping Jack on the back. Jack grinned and patted Kai back.

"You did great too. A very worthy opponent, this'll be a fun summer!" Jack said and happily collected his trophy. Rick arrived dead last, with no Karen to console him that year. Karen was congratulating Jack happily and gazing dreamily at the golden trophy.

"You're my lucky charm." Jack told Karen and she blushed. Rick had never said that to her, partly because he'd never won but still... He embraced her and she shivered happily at his touch. Rick trudged up the beach dripping, he looked like something wet that the dog had dragged in while congratulated Jack bitterly.

"I lost again Karen, maybe next year huh?" He said hopefully. Karen shrugged coldly and followed Jack to get some food. She successfully avoided Rick most of the day and spent it admiring Jack and allowing him to buy her lots of pineapple juices. Rick spent the day wet and miserable keeping an eye on Popuri and Kai and every so often angrily shouting at Kai for getting too close. Karen decided that her day had been a success as it had taken her one step closer to picking between Jack and Rick. Although she felt a little bad about giving Rick the cold shoulder she forgave herself since Rick had been as bad. Whenever she needed him and Popuri needed him he'd always choose his sister over his girlfriend.

"Hey...Karen, do you want to have dinner at my farm? I hate eating dinner alone." Jack asked smiling hopefully. Karen thought for a moment then shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I'd love to but I can't. I promised mom and dad I'd be home for dinner. Maybe next time..." She said thinking up a quick excuse. She had to give Rick a chance to catch up or it wasn't a fair test. Jack nodded understandingly and went to say goodbye to everyone. Karen waited for Rick, the least she could do was to let him walk her home.

"Oh, Karen, are you finally finished ignoring me?" Rick asked glumly.

"I'm allowed to have other friends Rick." Karen said coldly. They walked into the square and Rick turned towards his house, the opposite direction from Karen's.

"Aren't you going to walk me home?" Karen asked. Rick turned and glared at her, his glasses flashed maniacally in the setting sun.

"No Karen. See, I thought we were more than _just _friends but since we aren't, I don't have to walk you home. I don't have to meet you every morning by your house, because I'm _just _a friend. You shouldn't have led me to believe I was more." He shouted angrily, tears formed in his eyes.

"Fine Rick, that's just fine. You were more than a friend before, but I got sick of being there for you when you always chose Popuri over me! Good night Rick." Karen yelled and ran home. Rick gazed sadly at the spot where Karen had been, it was over.

Karen stormed into her bedroom knocking over a picture of her and Rick when they were young. They were smiling, Rick had lost a lot of teeth and stared toothlessly, but Karen had new pearly whites emerging. Karen sighed, she had always been the better looking of the couple, the entire village said so. They were a rather unlikely couple, but they had been happy. Karen knew that Rick would be blaming himself for this "break-up" but he had no idea. She knew it was her fault mainly, but she felt she had been very forgiving over the years. She kicked her bed and screamed into her pillow. The whole village would know by the next day, news travelled so fast, besides half the village had probably overheard them. She blamed Manna for the speed of the news in the village for she was the main cog in the gossip wheel. Karen sighed and turned over in her bed, another eventful day.

When Karen woke up she looked hopefully out of her window to see if Rick was waiting for her there. _"Maybe it's to early..." _She thought and checked her watch. He had five minutes to get there. Karen changed quickly and waited eagerly. If he didn't turn up there would be scandal, her mother would certainly tell Manna. She waited a while then realised he wasn't coming so she hurried down to make up an excuse to her mother. When she entered the kitchen Sasha smiled eagerly awaiting the gossip like a fat bulldog waiting for its juicy steak. Her green eyes shone expectantly for Karen to tell her the gossip.

"No...um... Rick then Karen?" Sasha asked in a fake out-of-interest tone. Karen kept calm and looked boredly back at her mother.

"No, he seemed a bit off last night, I expect he's ill." Karen said lying to perfection. Sasha's eyes dulled and she looked disappointed.

"Oh right, okay then." She said and hurried off to run some errands. A few minutes later Mary and her family arrived at the store, as usual for a Monday.

"Oh Karen, you're up and out of bed. Rick told us you were sick." Mary said. Karen saw Anna's eyes glow eager for gossip. Karen stared worriedly at the ceiling then faked a cough.

"Um... yeah, I am ill but um... I felt a little better." Karen said quickly. Mary lowered her glasses and scanned Karen. She nodded and watched as Anna went to buy some bread. When Anna was gone Mary cleaned her glasses and looked at Karen expectantly.

"So you and Rick broke up." Mary said with sadness rather than gloating.

"How did you know?" Karen asked worriedly. Mary cleaned her glasses again, her typical sign of I-know-something-you-don't-know.

"Ann heard shouting, so she told me in confidence. Only Ann, You, Popuri and I know, it's up to you who else knows." Mary said once again cleaning her glasses, there was more information to be wheedled from her.

"I take it Ann overheard and Popuri heard from Rick. Manna lives right next to the inn, did she hear?" Karen asked.

"No, then my mother and yours would know. I'm not entirely sure who else knows, it's pretty much up to you and Rick." Mary said she fingered her plait, a tell-tale sign that she had advice to offer.

"Can I offer some advice?" Mary asked. Karen grinned that she had figured out this tell and nodded. Mary was terrible at playing cards, she had way too many tells.

"Enough people know that word might get round. It's better that you tell them the truth than rumours get spread." Mary said, her mother came back and looked at them expectantly. Mary nodded towards her mother and Karen winked.

"Anna, I'm not really sick. Rick just said that to hide the fact that he and I broke up, please don't tell anyone until I've asked Rick if we can." Karen said sweetly, false tears appeared in her eyes. Anna nodded sympathetically and gestured to Mary to leave, Mary smiled at Karen and she winked again. She had a job to do, she had to spread the truth around town before Anna made up some elaborate lie. By lunch time everyone knew the truth and were giving Karen and Rick their sympathies.

The chicken and cow festivals came and went with little event. Other than the great cow escape which turned into a rodeo. Karen still felt sore from riding that cow and watching the other villagers duck out of the way. Finally though, it was the eve before the fireworks festival. Karen was at her usual haunt, Doug's Inn, and was drinking her troubles away then she spotted Rick enter the bar. He took the seat furthest away from her and ordered some beer. Karen watched Rick drink more and more wine until he was drunk. She was taking it easy for once, to show him that she was doing better without him. Without thinking Karen headed over to Rick, he stared woozily at her and watched her sit down.

"Rick, I seriously think you've had enough. You need to go home." She whispered taking away his glass.

"You're not the...hick... boss of me... you're not my girlfriend anymore...hick...I can do what I...hick...like." He said and took his shirt off and swung it over his head shouting "WOO HOO".

"Rick, just because I'm not you're girlfriend it doesn't mean I'm not allowed to be your friend. As your friend I'm telling you to go home, you've had enough!" Karen said wrenching another glass out of his hands. Ann walked up to them and helped Karen steady Rick and put his shirt on.

"It's okay Karen, I'll take him home. Goodnight." Ann said smiling tiredly. She dragged Rick out of the inn by the ear and Karen watched.

"Doug, do you need any help locking up?" Karen asked picking up her glasses and putting them on the counter.

"Nah, I'll be fine. Have a safe journey home Karen, 'night." Doug said taking out a cloth. Karen wished Doug goodnight and headed home, she had to be well rested for the fireworks festival.

Finally it was the day of the fireworks festival, Karen cleaned up the shop and organised the fall seeds in the morning. She was busy separating the grass seeds from any other green seeds when she heard someone knocking at the door. She reluctantly put down the seeds and went to answer the door, it was Rick.

"We're closed Rick." Karen said irritably. Rick looked rather embarrassed and held out a bunch of flowers for her.

"Oh thank you, what are these for?" Karen asked sniffing the flowers.

"For helping me out last night... you know telling me when I'd had enough..." Rick said turning red.

"Oh, well Ann did the most she took you home." Karen said stroking the petals of a flower.

"Yeah I know, but that's her job. You didn't have to help me... so um... are we friends?" Rick asked hopefully.

"Friends." Karen said happily. She said goodbye and put the flowers in some water. She'd only just picked up the seeds again when she head another knock. Grumbling she headed over to the door.

"Rick I know we said we're friends and all but... Oh hi Jack!" She said opening the door. Jack smiled and handed Karen a box of chocolates and a huge bunch of summer flowers that put Rick's to shame.

"Were you hoping I was someone else?" Jack asked jokingly, but with a hint of hurt in his voice.

"No, Rick just visited and I was annoyed that it would be him again... I'm glad it's you." Karen said sweetly as Jack grinned.

"Is it alright if I come in?" Jack asked hopefully. Karen looked at the piles of seeds she had to organise and label.

"Well I do have a lot of work to do..." She said then saw Jacks hopeful smile. "Alright, as long as you help." She said allowing Jack to follow her in. She explained the job and watched as Jack sorted and labelled with great efficiency.

"So was there something you wanted to tell me?" Karen asked sticking a sweet potato label on some seeds.

"Yeah, I um... was wondering, would you like to watch the fireworks with me tonight?" Jack asked smiling. Karen's eyes shone, she didn't have a boyfriend so she decided it was okay.

"Sure, that'd be great!" She said making a neat pyramid of seeds. Jack smiled happily and almost knocked down her pyramid.

"Do you want me to continue helping?" He said knocking down the pyramid.

"No... Just go." Karen said angrily putting back the pyramid. Jack sheepishly edged out of the room.

When it was finally the evening Karen headed out, wearing her usual outfit. She had put on a light shade of lipstick and some eyeliner and she hoped Jack would notice. She spotted Jack, who had reserved her a place on the edge of the dock. She walked over and sat down next to him.

"Hey Karen, you look great tonight!" Jack said. _"He has noticed"_ thought Karen grinning. In reality Jack had said that for the sake of being sweet, but Karen didn't need to know that. The coloured fireworks shot into the air and light shone onto their faces. The fireworks fizzled and banged making Karen jump each time one shot up. Jack saw her jump and sat closer putting his arm around her, she snuggled up to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Rick watched the cute scene from afar, the green eyed monster growling angrily in his mind. He spotted Popuri and Kai kissing passionately beneath the moonlight and walked over to break them apart. Meanwhile Karen and Jack were looking deeply into each others eyes both wondering whether it was the right moment for a first kiss.

"Kai get off my sister!" Rick screamed. Karen jumped away from Jack and went to tell Rick it was not his business. Jack sighed and watched the last firework fizzle out, and then he stood up and went to walk Karen home.

Karen began walking home, the night was over, she sighed. Jack was the perfect gentleman that night, he walked Karen home without trying to kiss her or anything. In a way she wished he hadn't been such a gentleman. She had so desperately wanted to kiss him, then why did she go to tell Rick it was none of his business instead. It was even less of her business, but she had to go and tell Rick he was wrong. _"So maybe I'm not quite over Rick, maybe I wasn't ready to kiss Jack. Maybe the moon viewing festival is the right time." _She thought. She turned the corner next to the church after saying goodnight to Jack and spotted Carter watching the stars from outside the church. He looked ghostly in the moonlight, like a fallen angel watching the heavens.

"Hey, Carter!" Karen exclaimed walking over to him. She saw a warm smile approach his face, his eyes glimmered reflecting the stars.

"Hello Karen. Did you enjoy the fireworks?" He asked a cheeky expression emerged onto his face. Karen began to wonder whether Carter secretly knew everyone's thoughts and feelings.

"They were pretty. How come you never watch the fireworks from mineral beach?" She asked avoiding his question as much as possible.

"I feel that the best place you can enjoy them is from where God and the Goddess would see them." He said gesturing towards the church.

"Isn't God everywhere? So technically doesn't he watch them from the beach?" She asked cheekily. Carter chuckled and sighed happily.

"You are a clever child. Let's just say I prefer watching from God's house. Everyone likes to watch the fireworks with someone." He said as his eyes sparkled mischievously. Karen laughed and looked up at the stars.

"Goodnight Carter." Karen said and headed home.

"Goodnight my child!" Carter called after her. Karen mused to herself about what a funny priest Carter was. He was very amiable and funny, he never acted holier-than-thou. That was probably why the whole village trusted and respected him. Karen remembered when Carter had first moved into the village, he was looking for a quite place to preach. He happened upon mineral town and was offered the job since the previous priest had died exactly twenty-four hours before he arrived. The people said that Carter had fallen from heaven to take care of mineral town. They all knew it wasn't true, but everything about his arrival was an amazing coincidence. Karen had been quite young when he had arrived. He was young and filled with youthful energy so she and the other children used to visit and play with him, much like May and Stu now did. To Karen Carter was living proof that everything happened for a reason. So there was a reason why she had not kissed Jack that night, she simply had to wait to find it.

The last few days of summer the people of mineral town spent enjoying the last of the beach weather. Few were brave enough to go to the beach in autumn. Popuri was soaking up the last few days of Kai, she missed him so much over the other seasons. Karen always pitied her over the colder months when Popuri always seemed lonely and soul-less. She went to church more, trying to fill the void that Kai left, but she never would until summer came. Karen always hated how smug Rick seemed when Kai was gone, as though it was he who had chased Kai out of town. However Karen happened to like the fall, partly because it was the month of her birthday and partly because of the wine harvest. Now that Cliff worked at the winery he would often give Karen and Ann free grapes when they visited. For her birthday she always received plenty of wine as everyone seemed at a loss of what to get her. All they knew was that she liked wine to drown away her problems, so that's all they gave her. She found it sad that all she was known for was chugging wine.

It was the 30th and finally Kai prepared to leave, Popuri cried as he packed and Karen and Ann comforted her. Soon the boat arrived and Kai prepared to board.

"Goodbye Kai." Karen said and gave him a hug. Kai forced a smile and turned to Popuri.

"Goodbye Poe, I'll see you next year." He said a hint of hope in his voice. Popuri cried and kissed him goodbye, unable to say it. Kai stepped up onto the boat and it began to sail back to the mainland, Popuri cried mournfully. Soon the boat became a dot in the distance and Karen dragged Popuri away crying. She took Popuri home and set her down on the sofa, Popuri curled up and cried. Right on cue Rick walked in and smugly patted Popuri on the back.

"No use crying over spilt milk, eh." He said trying to look sad. He couldn't hide the joyfulness in his voice.

"Kai... wasn't... spilt... milk... I... love him." Popuri whined, sniffing mid-sentence. Rick simply chuckled and walked off.

"I...hate...him." Popuri cried. Karen looked grimly at the wall.

"He can be awful when it comes to Kai, but I guess he's not so bad." Karen said, wondering why she was standing up for Rick.

"You have to say that you're his... well you used to be his... girlfriend." Popuri said her brown eyes were red with crying. Karen exhaled loudly and went to grab Popuri a tissue. Popuri wiped her tears and blew her nose loudly.

"I'm glad Kai can't see me like this." She said laughing a little.

"I'm sure he'd think you were beautiful no matter what." Karen said feeling a bit jealous.

"Like Rick thought you were always beautiful. Why did you break up? Was it 'cos of Jack?" She asked. Karen sat down next to Popuri and faced her.

"There are other reasons, but, yes that is the main one." She said and watched Popuri nod.

"I knew you were entranced by him from the moment he walked onto the island. That's when you and Rick began having problems. I just wonder why you didn't feel you could tell me." She said sadly.

"I really wanted to tell you, but I thought you would be mad, being his sister." Karen said honestly, she was so glad to finally be honest with her best friend again.

"No never. I know what an ass Rick is, I live with him. I always wondered why you became a couple in the first place." Popuri said giggling.

"It's very complicated. I'm now not even sure myself." She said furrowing her brow. Popuri giggled and so did Karen. They discussed all the things they had missed out on in the summer, not realising that Rick was listening at the door.

ooooh Rick that little eavesdropper, hmphhh, i bet he's a peeping tom too. Okay i don't have that much against Rick, but let's face it, he's a nerd with an anger management problem so yeah i don't love him, but i don't exactly hate him... well not enough to kill him off... yet. So who will Karen pick...


	3. Falling Leaves

3. Falling Leaves

Summer trickled into fall as the blue fall flowers grew overnight. The people of mineral town anxiously prepared for the music festival held on the 3rd. Ann and Elli would be playing the flute, accompanied by Mary on the piano. Karen would sing as usual and was preparing her voice by singing annoyingly loud at midnight. The air had cooled and the rains and hurricanes had arrived. With no equipment or televisions to warn the townspeople of when the hurricanes arrived they prayed to the goddess every night that no storm would hit. The only television in the village belonged to Jack so this year at least the townspeople would have a warning.

It was a cool, crisp fall evening as the people piled into the church and out of the cold. The mini-orchestra were waiting at the front for Jack to arrive, it was his first festival and he would be playing the ocarina. Finally he burst in and scurried to the front clutching his ocarina.

"Sorry, I'm late... stray chicken." He murmured. Mary frowned and counted Ann and Elli in. Soon the music was playing and all the villagers were listening peacefully. Everyone was happy at the music festival as they all greeted the fall together and silently prayed to the God and Goddess for a fall without hurricanes. All the villagers slept well that evening and started the fall well rested, ready for their own private adventures.

Karen was busy sweeping the shop floor as usual when Rick burst in looking angry.

"Ah, Rick. I've been expecting you, sit down." Karen said and put down her broom. Rick looked puzzled but went to sit on the counter.

"How did you know I was...?" He began but Karen interrupted.

"Popuri told me she expected you'd heard our conversation. I know you well enough to see that you would come to accuse me. So... go ahead tell me what you overheard." She said calmly, her voice was cooler than the autumn wind.

"...Why? I thought we were..." Rick said with a calmness that surprised Karen.

"Happy? I thought we were too. It wasn't until I met Jack that I realised I wasn't. You were always happy though, I suppose you had low expectations." She said coldly. Rick shuddered at the frostiness of her voice and shook his head.

"I never had low expectations. I was just crazy about you. It's sad you never felt the same way about me." He said and laughed nervously. Karen sighed and went to put another log on the fire.

"I suppose this is the break up talk we never had..." Karen said shuffling her feet. Rick nodded shyly and gave Karen a short hug.

"I guess this truly is goodbye. There's no point in accusing you of something that your heart chose. You were just...following your heart." Rick said sadly. Karen laughed remembering what Ann said.

"What is it about this village that makes the people so corny? If I hear anyone say that one more time I'll scream." She said. Rick laughed and hugged Karen one more time.

"Are we still friends?" Karen asked hopefully. Rick walked halfway to the door then turned back sadly.

"We'll see." He said doubtfully. Karen felt tears form in her eyes and saw Ricks eyes water too.

"Goodbye then Rick." She said as he turned away. He nodded and walked quickly out of the store. Karen felt tears trickle down her face as her old friend walked away no longer her friend.

Karen spent the beginning of fall hanging out at the inn with Popuri and Ann. Since the fireworks festival she had only seen brief glances of Jack, he'd been too busy to drop by the shop to visit her. He almost never visited the inn and so she went without talking to him for a long time. She was beginning to wonder whether it was meant to be at all. She knew that only the moon viewing festival would decide that, so she might as well have some fun before that. She, Ann and Popuri had decided to learn how to make their own wine. Popuri wanted to, only to take her mind off Kai as she wasn't much of a drinking girl.

"Okay, so once we make our own brand of wine what shall we call it?" Ann asked chewing on a pencil. Their brainstorming of ideas was not going well, as the only thing they knew about wine was how to drink it.

"How about Potpourri Wine?" Popuri asked playfully. Karen and Ann glared at her and Popuri shrunk.

"You only like that because it sounds like your name." Karen said accusingly.

"No, it also has a nice ring to it!" Popuri said. Karen and Ann shook their heads and continued to think.

"How about... Goddess wine?" Ann said chewing the pencil thoughtfully.

"Goddess wine, I quite like that." Karen said as Ann wrote it down on a piece of paper.

"Yeah, I like it too." Popuri said nodding happily. Ann smiled that her idea was a success.

"It screams girl power!" Karen exclaimed. Popuri nodded in agreement.

"Only one problem now though..." Ann said a worried expression appeared on her face. Karen and Popuri looked horror-struck knowing what would come next.

"How do we make wine?" They all moaned together. They thought for a few minutes as Ann's pencil got smaller and smaller.

"Oooooh, I have an idea, a great idea!" Popuri exclaimed leaping up and down.

"What?" Karen asked excitedly. A clever smile appeared on Popuri's face.

"We can look it up in the library!" She said knowledgeably.

"Yeah!" Karen and Ann exclaimed together. The three girls skipped to the library humming happily. They burst in giving Mary a huge shock.

"What are you girls doing here?" Mary asked angrily, she sounded violated.

"This is a public library right? We're here to like read and stuff." Popuri said twisting a lock of her hair absentmindedly.

"You know how to read?" Mary asked sarcastically. Karen and Ann looked offended but Popuri looked at Mary as if she were stupid.

"Mary, don't be silly. We learnt how to read with you, how could you forget?" Popuri asked sounding genuinely worried for Mary's health.

"Sarcasm is a foreign language to you, Popuri, isn't it?" Mary said raising her eyebrows. Popuri shook her head angrily and glared at Mary.

"Look, can we read you're bookish things or what?" Ann asked angrily. Mary sighed and stood up.

"Are you looking for picture books or actual books?" Mary asked gloatingly, as though the three girls were stupid.

"We need a textbook on wine-making." Karen said browsing through the bookshelves. Mary raised her eyebrows again and laughed triumphantly.

"We don't have any books on wine-making. Duke has all those books and I doubt he'd lend you one." She said looking at them as though they were pathetic. Ann's face glowed as an idea struck her like lightening.

"Duke wouldn't but Cliff would. Since Cliff works at the winery he has full access to the books! He'd definitely lend me the books, since he's my...boyfriend." Ann said blushing.

"Why didn't we go to Cliff in the first place?" Karen asked. The girls shrugged and headed out of the library.

"Neanderthals." Mary said to herself once they left. The girls hurried to the winery to find Cliff.

"Is it me or did Mary seem particularly moody today?" Karen asked glancing back at the library.

"Yeah, she so needs a boyfriend!" Popuri exclaimed, Karen and Ann laughed and nodded in agreement.

They arrived at the winery and Cliff gave them a book and winked at Ann. Ann grinned and turned a dark pink colour.

"Tell me if you guys need some grapes, we have more than enough, and Duke gives Barley the grapes we don't have room to store to feed his animals. So I'll give you some." He said kindly.

"Thanks Honey." Ann said sweetly, blushing. Cliff nodded and went back to work. They sat in the inn and Ann read the basic method from the book out loud.

"First add the grape juice to a bottle and then add 3 litres of water blah, blah, blah... Keep in a warm place until the fermentation is complete. Then put in a cool place to age. Then put the wine into bottles and you're done... that sounds easy!" She exclaimed. Popuri looked thoughtful for a minute looking at the book.

"We should have something to make our wine different from Duke's and Manna's wine. So what do you say we add strawberry and grape juice?" Popuri asked. Ann and Karen's eyes widened at Popuri's brilliant idea.

"That's brilliant... but where do we get strawberries from in fall?" Ann asked. Karen thought for a second.

"Jack has a greenhouse, why don't we ask him to grow some for us!" Karen suggested. "I could give him the seeds free!" The girls nodded happily as they went to ask Jack to grow them the strawberries. Jack accepted willingly, as long as he would get to try some of the wine once they were done. This was exactly what Karen wanted to hear as she happily handed him the seeds.

"So how many bottles do you think we should make?" Karen asked. They considered all the people who might want to try some and also how many grapes and strawberries they might need.

"How about fifteen, not everyone in town drinks and if we have a bottle each and let everyone else share we should have enough." Ann said counting the numbers on her fingers. They all nodded in agreement and collected their equipment.

By Fall 11th they had collected the strawberries and grapes and had begun to make their wine, they had fermented the wine and were ready to leave it in a cool place.

"How about our basement it's cool in there." Ann suggested and the girls agreed. They placed the 15 bottles in the basement and gazed at their work.

"It's... so beautiful." Popuri said as though the wine bottles were her children. They sighed happily.

"What happens now?" Karen asked mysteriously. Ann thought for a minute and then looked at the bottles.

"We wait." She said. They waited for five minutes then Popuri yawned.

"I'm bored." She whined and the others agreed.

"Waiting for wine to age is boring, you want to go to the hot springs?" Ann asked walking up the stairs of the basement. The girls nodded in agreement and headed to the hot springs, their work was done.

They oozed into the hot springs and sat happily in the waters. They enjoyed the wonderful warmth of the waters as they relaxed.

"Looking forward to the moon viewing?" Karen asked, her eyes closed in relaxation.

"Definitely, I'm going to watch it with Cliff and maybe enjoy it a bit after too." Ann said blushing. Karen and Popuri giggled and watched Ann blush.

"Well I'm not, Kai's never there. I'm probably just going to spend it at home scoffing chocolate and reading a romance novel in bed." Popuri said sighing.

"Well hopefully Jack will ask me and then we'll finally be a couple." Karen said sighing happily. They all closed their eyes and talked about the future enjoying the time they had together.

Finally the 13th had arrived and Jack still hadn't asked Karen to the moon viewing festival. She nervously awaited him at the shop, but soon it came to 2 o'clock and he hadn't asked her. _"That's it. I'll just go to his farm so he can't avoid me." _She thought angrily. She hurried over to his farm and rapped hard on the door, making her hand hurt. Jack answered the door looking slightly perturbed.

"Oh Karen, it's only you. What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Well, did you not know it was the moon viewing festival tonight?" She asked hinting as strongly as she could.

"Yeah, I did." He said boredly. Karen waited for him to ask her but he didn't.

"Well, aren't you going to ask me?" She said in frustration.

"No." He said shortly. Karen stared blankly at him. Her face turned the colour of a tomato.

"Well... why not?" She asked slightly put out. He chuckled and then sighed.

"Because every time I try to get close to you, you somehow shrug me off. So this time I'm not going to ask you and so you can't shrug me off." He said calmly. Karen's glared at him and turned to run off.

"Sorry Karen." Jack muttered to himself after she left.

Karen got dressed into the outfit she was going to wear with Jack. She felt the tears drip down her face as she smoothed some red lipstick onto her lips. She tasted the salt from her tears and hastily brushed her teeth. She decided that even though Jack wasn't going with her she might as well try to have fun. She headed out of the door and walked up mother's hill to watch the moon. She sat and watched, the moon was just about to rise, but she felt miserable. She just couldn't bear to stay so she turned to leave and she saw Jack walk towards her. She looked at him questioningly.

"I told you I wouldn't ask you, I never said I wouldn't come." He said softly. Karen breathed a sigh of relief and watched as he walked towards her. He put his hand on her neck and pulled her towards him. Soon his lips were upon hers and they were sharing their first kiss. He wrapped his arms around her gently, deepening the kiss as she ran her hand through his silky brown hair. The kiss lasted for the entire festival, it was the first time that Karen hadn't seen the moon on the 13th of Fall.

The next morning Karen hurried to tell Ann and Popuri all about her evening, knowing that they probably already knew. She hurried to the inn where Ann was cooking breakfast and Popuri was on the phone to Kai.

"Ann guess what!" She exclaimed happily. Ann flipped over the pancake she was cooking and smiled at Karen.

"I know, half the village saw you. Congratulations!" She said putting some fried eggs onto a plate. Just then Popuri finished her phone call looking her usual bouncy and happy self.

"Kai says hello. Ah I feel so much better for having talked to him, oh hey Karen." Popuri said spotting Karen.

"Hey. Did Ann tell you my news?" Karen asked excitedly. Popuri nodded and winked happily.

"Do you guys want breakfast?" Ann asked shovelling some eggs and sausages onto her plate.

"Yeah, sure." Popuri said helping herself to a plate. She piled on some sausages eggs and beans and licked her lips.

"Karen?" Ann asked offering her a plate. Karen shook her head and watched Popuri munch a sausage.

"No, I'm fine thank you. I'm going to go and talk to Jack... and ask him about last night." Karen said nervously. Ann looked grave and handed Karen two pieces of chocolate cake.

"Give one to him and eat one yourself first. Tell him you wanted to have breakfast with him... you know how guys are about 'the talk'. Start by asking him some questions then innocently ask what last night meant to you guys. Okay?" Ann said. Karen nodded and smiled then ran out of the inn.

"Urgghh, I remember the talk I had with Cliff, not fun. He started talking about how our relationship is like the universe..." Ann said frowning. Popuri giggled then furrowed her brow.

"How is it like the universe...?" She asked. Ann shrugged and took a bite of sausage.

"Something about it's always expanding but if it expands too fast it might end up like the big bang." She said. Popuri pulled a face and thought for a minute.

"What's the big bang?" She asked. Ann shrugged again.

"Cliff said that it was how the world was created or something with on huge bang that made the universe like explode... blah, blah, blah..." She said and began clearing up the plates.

"That's silly. Everyone knows God created the universe... didn't he...?" Popuri asked. Ann washed up the plates and sat down at the table looking confused.

"Yeah, of course. At least I think so... well I guess Cliff's is one theory and we have another... but ours is the right one. Isn't it?" Ann asked looking slightly worried. Popuri was equally as worried and confused.

"Let's go ask Carter... he'll know." Popuri said standing up. Ann smiled weakly and nodded as they headed over to see Carter.

Meanwhile Karen had sat down at Jacks table and was slowly nibbling at the chocolate cake. Jack seemed suspicious to her and so she was asking him more and more personal questions.

"How's the farm?" She said quickly looking around Jack's house. It was rather small with a small single bed and a television. It was getting bigger and he now had a fridge and cabinet. But Karen found herself thinking that it was too small to start a family in.

"Karen that's the fifth time you've asked me that. I told you its fine. What's the real reason you came to see me?" He asked and suspiciously swallowed the rest of the cake. Karen gulped and pushed her cake aside.

"Well... um... have you ever had a girlfriend... before me I mean... not saying I'm definitely your girlfriend. Unless you want me to be... but we don't have to rush into anything... shut up Karen." She said burying her head in her hands. She went bright red and took a bite of her cake. Jack looked at her understandingly and went to get a drink of water for her.

"So is this... the talk?" He asked chuckling. Karen nodded and sighed, she wondered if perhaps she should have asked him straight out.

"No! I'm talking about couple stuff, not babies!" She said, making Jack laugh.

"Never said you were talking about babies... geez." He said smiling at her mistake while she flushed a darker shade of red. He continued quickly to save her further embarrassment.

"Well honestly, after last night we've got to be more than just friends, right?" He asked. Karen nodded quickly turning slightly less red.

"So basically it's up to you... will you be my girlfriend?" He asked turning slightly red himself. Karen grinned and nodded violently.

"Of course I will! I'm relieved... I think I'm worse at the talk than you are." She said taking a gulp of water. He smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips. Karen smiled and looked very relieved.

"So um... how'd you like to show me around your farm...?" She asked peeking out of the window.

"Um... sure, you can even help me!" He said slyly. Karen raised her eyebrows and Jack laughed.

"Is that a maybe...?" He asked hopefully. Karen smiled and flicked back her blonde-brown hair.

"We'll see..." She said stepping outside the door. Jack laughed and led her around the farm introducing her to each of his animals. First she met Happy the dog, Happy by name and happy by nature. He ran around the farm like a lunatic barking at the chickens and the grass and the wind and the trees and the clouds and at Jack and basically anything that moved... or not. Then she met Bella the fat cow, who gave the best tasting milk. All she did was stand and chew grass and occasionally was active enough to turn her head to watch Happy bark at her. Next was Silver the horse, who was in fact brown. Jack said he just liked to ride him and shout "Hi ho Silver... away" which Karen considered a good enough reason for the name. She was then introduced to each of Jack's four chickens separately, even though they all looked the same.

"This is Hamlet... or is that Puck, maybe that's Oberon... or is that Bob..." Jack said looking at each chicken.

"You name all of your Chickens?" Karen asked looking at Jack with an amused expression on her face.

"Yeah... is that sad?" He asked scratching his head. Karen laughed and nodded.

"It's not as bad as what Rick does. He gives them all first second and last names. To be fair though their last names are all the same..." Karen said pulling a face.

"Oh right... because that's _not _crazy." Jack said rolling his eyes Karen laughed and left the chicken house.

"So is that all?" She asked boredly.

"Well unless you want a ride on Silver?" Jack asked pointing to his brown horse. Karen's face brightened up and she grinned.

"I thought you'd never ask." She said walking over to Silver. Jack saddled up his horse and gave Karen a boost on.

"Now, have you ridden before?" He asked looking slightly worried.

"Yes. I've been having riding lessons from Barley since I was four." She said kicking Silver onto a trot. She galloped around the field carefully avoiding Jacks crops which he was guarding with his life. After completely exhausting Silver and Happy, who had chased them all around the farm, Karen finally dismounted.

"Wow, Silver's pretty fast, I think you have a good chance for the horse races this fall. I'll bet on you!" Karen said winking. Jack grinned and fed Silver a carrot.

"You really think I have a chance of winning?" He asked patting Silver and taking off his saddle.

"Yeah, if you train him every day from now until then." She said. Jack thought for a moment and then shook his head.

"I can't, I don't have the time... I know! You could train him for me!" He exclaimed. Karen considered it and then shook her head.

"I can't, he needs you to ride him. Otherwise he'll get used to my riding style." She said looking annoyed.

"Tell you what, you train him for the next 3 days and I'll train him the last day... deal?" He asked holding out his hand. Karen thought for a moment and shook his hand.

"Deal." She agreed. She said goodbye to Jack, Silver and Happy then headed to the inn to tell the girls of her success.

When she walked into the inn a depressing scene greeted her. Both Ann and Popuri were collapsed on the desk looking glum.

"Whoa, who died in here?" Karen asked. The room seemed considerably darker than usual and Ann was not her cheery self.

"Not who, what." Ann said pouring herself a fifth beer. Popuri held out her mug for a fourth beer and Ann poured her one.

"Fine, what died? Nora's okay right?" She asked looking worried. Nora the inn cat, though overlooked in many cases was precious to all the townsfolk.

"Nora's fine." Ann said sighing. Popuri looked up as though only just realising that Karen had walked in.

"Our belief in God is gone... no heaven... just death." Popuri said, showing awareness for the first time since Karen had arrived.

"How?" Karen asked looking confused. Popuri took another gulp of beer and hiccupped.

"We were discussing the big bang and how it created the earth and the universe. But then we wondered how both it and God could have created the earth. So we went to ask Carter and he couldn't give us an exact answer only a maybe. He said both theories could be correct but we may never know which one." Ann said looking both angry and worried.

"So when we die, there may be no after life... just...um... nothing." Popuri said, tears forming in her big brown eyes. Karen looked slightly shocked then thought deeply.

"What about Mary, she's all sciency _and_ catholic. She must believe both! Let's go and talk to her." Karen suggested. Ann and Popuri nodded and looked slightly better as they headed to the library. When they entered they saw Mary deeply entranced in a novel.

"Mary, sorry to interrupt but..." Karen began, but was interrupted by a jittery Popuri.

"We really, really need your help." Popuri said quickly, her eyes wide. Mary looked up and seemed genuinely worried for them.

"What's the matter?" She asked gently, she seemed unusually calm after being interrupted from her reading. Karen calmly explained the problem while Popuri nodded quickly and added "uh-huh" after every sentence. Mary looked sympathetic and she went to her shelf and picked up both the bible and a book about the big bang. She put them on the desk and opened each one to the first page.

"See these books, they both explain the theories. They are both fact, therefore they are both believed to be accurate and true." She said. They all looked at the books intrigued and waited for Mary's conclusion.

"So which theory is correct?" Popuri asked looking from the bible to the big bang book.

"It doesn't matter. If you believe in God then that theory works for you, if you believe in the big bang then that's true to you. It's up to you which you choose to believe. If you like you can think of it this way, the way I think of it. God created the big bang to create a hunk of rock that would one day be the earth, and then from that the story in genesis continues." She said. Popuri smiled and nodded, Ann looked relieved and accepted the theory.

"Thank you so much Mary!" They chimed smiling. Mary nodded and put the books back on the shelf.

"No problem, I went through the same thing at one point. But I read both the books and figured it out, it seems to work." She said. Popuri and Ann nodded.

"Oooh, we should tell Carter what we... Mary figured out." Popuri suggested and ran to tell Carter, thanking and waving goodbye to Mary. Karen lingered behind to thank Mary.

"Thank you for helping them Mary." Karen said grinning. Mary studied Karen through her glasses and smiled.

"So do you agree with my theory?" She asked closing her novel. Karen looked at the ceiling thinking.

"It seems to work and I think I will choose to believe that. But there are many theories of how the world was created and I guess if we tried to fit them all we'd get way too confused." Karen said. Mary sighed and looked at her books.

"That's the problem with knowledge. The more you know the more there is to learn." She said sounding slightly sad.

"Yeah and the more you know the less happy you become. Sure it's great to know stuff, but it makes the world seem like a far scarier place." Karen said. Mary nodded and breathed in the delicious smell of old books.

"You're right. The more things I learn about the world the sadder I get. This town is so happy because they don't know about the world outside our town. So we're happy, untainted people." Mary said sounding sad.

"But knowledge can also help you. So I suppose as long as you don't let what you learn affect you badly, then you can continue your life better off rather than worse." Karen said looking at the many books Mary had.

"I guess you're right. Karen you have a good mind. It's a shame you barely ever use it, you should visit me sometimes and read." Mary said. Karen thought for a moment, wondering if she would enjoy reading.

"Alright, I suppose I would like to learn more about life outside this town. When shall we meet? I've got some training to do this week so can we set a date after the race?" Karen asked, sounding rather keener than she had meant to. Mary grinned and giggled.

"Sure, how about the 20th?" Mary asked. Karen nodded and thanked Mary. She then hurried to find Ann and Popuri.

When she entered the inn, Ann was cooking a meal and Popuri was making a cake. They smiled as she entered and suggested she go get the drinks.

"So Karen, you didn't get to tell us how today went..." Ann hinted, showing she needed to hear some gossip. Karen described her day enthusiastically as Popuri and Ann made them dinner. Ann made them hot chicken sandwiches and chips while Popuri made some apple pie and custard.

"So now I'm training Jack's horse for the race, which should mean I get to spend more time with him!" Karen finished as Ann placed the plates on a table and they all sat down to eat.

"Wow, that's excellent!" Ann exclaimed spitting crumbs over Karen who hastily swept them off and nodded excitedly.

"So you're going to train Jacks horse and help him train it on the last day. Then if you win, I trust there will be a celebration dinner." Popuri said giggling. She waggled her eyebrows and looked slyly at Karen.

"Guys, is that all you think about... you are... sick and wrong." Karen said trying to hide a slight smile. They laughed and cleared their plates.

"But you would have a romantic dinner?" Ann asked. Karen nodded and imagined a romantic dinner with Jack. With beautiful candles and an expensive tablecloth. She watched in her mind as she stood up too fast knocking a candle onto the tablecloth and setting it alight. She frowned at the thought and saw Ann and Popuri staring at her inquiringly.

"I'm really not great at being romantic... seductive yes... but romantic... no." She said seeing Jack's angry face looking at his destroyed house in her imagination.

"I know you're imagining the worst but honestly you could easily pull it off. You can be romantic when you want to be... Rick told me." Popuri said. Karen smiled at her glad that her friends believed in her.

"Yeah, and maybe for dessert..." Ann said waggling her eyebrows. Karen snorted and Popuri giggled and began to choke on her custard. Karen and Ann watched with an amused expression as Popuri recovered.

"He would have to get me really drunk." Karen said seriously. Ann snorted and knocked over her water accidentally.

"Honey, it's not that hard." Ann said. Karen grinned and laughed poking Ann in the ribs.

"Trust me, Jack's a gentleman. He wouldn't do that." Karen said looking both proud and slightly disappointed.

"Rick would." Popuri said seriously. Karen nodded gravely and Ann sighed. They finished dessert and washed up the dishes. Then Karen and Popuri said goodnight and headed home. Karen had had a tiring day and was exhausted so she said goodnight to her parents and curled up in bed.

The day she headed down to the farm to train Silver. She spent the entire morning galloping around the farm and watching Jack finish his farm work. Finally she decided to break for lunch and decided to raid Jacks fridge.

"Hey Jack, what're we having for lunch?" She asked her stomach rumbling. Jack put down the hoe he was using and walked over to greet her.

"Ummm... lunch... right. See I don't really have lunch." He said looking slightly awkward as though Karen was about to shout at him.

"Seriously, no lunch?" Karen asked sounding surprised. Jack nodded looking rather sheepish.

"Well I normally don't have time to make lunch..." He said looking at his watch. Karen smiled.

"Well, you're in luck, today I'm going to make you lunch!" She said happily. Jack gulped. He had seen her cooking at the cooking festival and seen Sasha and Jeff at the clinic for food poisoning enough times to know that this was a bad idea. As well as being toxic, Karen's food usually tasted awful.

"That's okay I'm not hungry." Jack said. He knew that Karen was oblivious to how terrible her cooking was.

"It's no trouble, honestly. I'll make us a couple of cheese omelettes. Do you have any fresh eggs?" She asked. Jack nodded and reluctantly told her where to find her ingredients. When she had gone to make her... food, Jack silently prayed to the Goddess that Karen's food wouldn't kill him. When Karen finally called him inside she had placed two tasty looking omelettes on the table.

"Voila, Omelette a la Karen." She said pointing to the omelettes. Jack stared at them in disbelief, they actually looked edible.

"I know most people don't seem to want to eat my cooking for some reason, but omelette is the one thing that everyone likes of mine." She said. Jack smiled and gave a sigh of relief deciding that he could perhaps eat them. He ate his omelette and polished his plate. They had been light, fluffy and delicious and he had enjoyed every bite.

"Mmmm, Karen they were great. Can you make them everyday this week?" Jack asked grinning.

"Sure, but don't you want to try my other dishes?" She asked sounding a little hurt.

"No." Jack said quickly then saw the frown on her face. "I mean, I loved your omelette so much… I must have another." He said hoping that she would believe him. Karen smiled and nodded and gave Jack a quick kiss. Jack smiled and felt relieved as he watched Karen head out to resume training.

On the 15th was Karen's birthday which she spent most of training Silver and hanging out with Jack. Almost the entire village gave Karen wine, which she was used to. Only Popuri, Ann and Jack were different. Popuri gave her a pretty bracelet made from fall flowers. She had asked Saibara to dip it in glass to preserve the flowers and it now had a pretty shine, Saibara had done the glass dipping for free saying that it was part of his gift. Ann gave her a cook book hoping that it might make Karen a better cook. But Karen's best gift of all came from Jack, which was a ruby broach in the shape of a heart. She announced to her friends that it was the best birthday ever, and they agreed. The rest of the evening the spent helping Karen… clear away… some of the wine shifty eyes.

After 5 days of training Silver and helping Jack train Silver Karen was finally watching them in the race. She, Ann and Popuri watched and Karen silently prayed gripping her betting slip tightly in her delicate hand.

"Please, we trained so hard, please Goddess." She whispered. She heard the starting gun and watched intently as they galloped off.

"Wow, because Jacks a first time racer his odds are ninety-nine to one. If you win, that'd be a lot of tokens!" Ann said counting on her fingers. Karen felt her heart thudding in her chest as she watched Jack and Silver running neck and neck with a horse call Nero and his rider. She watched with a feeling of dread as Jack fell behind Nero.

"Go Jack, Go!" Karen shouted and Jack seemed to hear her as he picked up speed. He galloped in front of Nero and passed the finish line victorious.

"Yes! We won, we won!" Karen exclaimed dancing a victory dance. She hurried over to Jack to congratulate him.

"You did it Jack. You won." She said happily. Jack grinned and patted Silver.

"I couldn't have done it without my perfect trainer and girlfriend. You are wonderful!" He said happily. She blushed and patted Silver.

"Let's have a photo!" Mayor Thomas announced and beckoned a man with black hair carrying a large camera.

"Say cheese." The man said. Jack kissed Karen as he took the picture and the crowd "ooooohed" and "awwwwed".

"When the town was finished congratulating Jack and saying "in your face" to the other town Karen cashed in her betting slip and bought Jack a shining gold horse badge as congratulations. Jack then suggested that they had a congratulations dinner at his house and Karen agreed. Ann delivered them a meal and winked to Karen as they sat down to eat. The dinner went very well, no knocking down candles and setting the house on fire. They talked and discussed their pasts and Jack told Karen about the outside world. They talked until midnight and then Karen announced that she had to go. Jack kissed her goodnight and offered to walk her home. She said she'd be alright and headed home feeling light and tingly.

Finally her meeting with Mary had arrived. She had both dreaded and anticipated it, wondering what Mary wanted to discuss. Would they read books, or perhaps discuss other theories? Karen had no idea, but felt a little anxious as she entered the library. Mary greeted her with a nod and gestured for her to sit down. Karen sat on one of the worn red armchairs of the library, which had faded beyond belief and turned a strange blood red, she then looked at Mary intently.

"Yes… well… I thought tonight I would lend you a book to red for our next meeting and we can discuss it then… how about Lord of the Flies?" She asked handing Karen and old book.

"Wow, what's it about?" Karen asked flicking through the pages. Mary took the book off her and shut it.

"I'm not going to tell you that! It's for you to read, however you may find it rather disturbing, so if you can't stand the gruesomeness just tell me." Mary said handing Karen the book back.

"Okay, so when shall we have the next meeting?" Karen asked. Mary thought for a minute.

"Why don't you just come to the library when you've finished the book, it'll take you what, 3 days?" Mary said. Karen stared at her blankly.

"Erm… make that a month… or even a year." Karen said measuring the thickness of the book. Mary looked shocked and then nodded.

"Okay, well just try to get through it and come to me when you've finished." Mary said. Karen nodded and stood up. They said goodnight and Karen headed home, book in hand.

The rest of Fall Karen spent making up for the work she had missed while helping Jack as well as reading the book Mary had set her. She had to store away the seeds and sweep the store. She had also heard that her father was shipping in a blue feather and wondered who it was for. Whenever she asked him he told her it was customer business and he wouldn't tell the secret. Karen knew he would crack eventually, he always did. It was probably fear of Sasha scolding that had made him keep the secret that long. So she spent a lot of her day asking the customers if they knew anything about the blue feather, to no avail. Soon she gave up as autumn flowed into winter, the time of year when no seeds would grow and Jack would have more time for her.

Well hello my lovlies! Awww a romantic dinner... i'm hungry... never mind. So yesh, is it me or does this fanfic seem a little **too** happy? Yeah?


	4. Freezing Festivals and Bitter Memories

4. Freezing festivals and bitter memories

On the first day of winter Karen looked out of her window and saw that a thick blanket of snow had appeared overnight. She shivered and turned over in her warm bed, savouring the comforting heat then suddenly she found it too hot. She sniffed and sat up, her head was pounding. She strained her memory back to the night before and tried to remember if she had had any alcohol. She remembered that she hadn't and groaned. She looked in the mirror and stared at her awful reflection, it was definite… she had a cold. She sneezed and collapsed on her bed. After an hour her Mom came up to see why she hadn't come down.

"Karen, there are jobs to do, don't be lazy." Sasha said sounding frustrated.

Karen sneezed and then blew her nose and Sasha saw how pale her only daughter was.

"Momb I don' feelh tso good." Karen said in a nasal voice. Sasha put her hand on Karen's forehead and felt her temperature.

"Oh Karen, you're ill and on the first day of winter. You have a fever, how unfortunate." Sasha said sounding a little amused. "Bad luck Honey, you'll just have to stay in bed today." Karen groaned and blew her nose again. Sasha told Karen that she would take her to the doctors for a check-up, although it was probably just a common cold. Then went out to run some "errands" or in other words, gossip about Karen's cold. When she came back she took Karen to the hospital which was thankfully right next door. They entered the waiting room and Karen spotted Rick.

"Hey Karen what's up?" Rick asked looking slightly worried. Karen was going to point out that if she knew that why would she be at the doctors in her pyjamas but decided against it.

"I fink I've got ha cold." She said in a nasal voice and Rick nodded sympathetically. Elli handed him some medicine and he left promising Karen he'd visit her later.

"Oh goodie." Karen muttered under her breath. She watched Elli and Doctor collect the equipment and noticed they seemed extra close lately. Elli kept blushing every time the Doctor "accidentally" touched her hand. Karen thought about the blue feather and finally realized who it was for. _"The cold has its advantages" _She thought watching them. The Doctor examined her and made her open and mouth and say "ah". Finally he came to the conclusion that she had… a common cold... shocking. While he went to fetch her some antibiotics and Sasha went to pay him she decided to ask Elli about her relationship with the Doctor.

"Elli, are you and the Doctor… together?" Karen whispered. Elli blushed and looked at the floor. She was an incredibly shy girl, so ladylike and it obviously embarrassed to think about relationships. Well some call it ladylike, others just call it frigid.

"Yes, it's true, we're a couple. I think we may even… get married." Elli said excitedly. She blushed and looked lovingly at the Doctor.

"Yeah I think you will." Karen said grinning knowingly. Elli smiled happily. Karen sighed, happy for her friend and for learning a little bit of gossip, something she had inherited off her mother, knowing the secret of the blue feather had certainly made her feel a bit better. Then the Doctor came back and handed Karen some antibiotics and some Bodigiser.

"The bodigiser will help you to recover quickly. Take the antibiotics twice a day and drink plenty of fluids." The Doctor said handing Karen the medicine. She nodded gratefully and Sasha walked her home. After being tucked into bed and reading one of the more gruesome parts of Lord of the Flies she turned over to sleep. She was just drifting off when a giant hippo came to tell her she had a visit her. A chicken walked in and handed her some soup.

"It's chicken. I know I didn't used to like you having it but it'll help you recover." The chicken said. Karen put her hand to her head and took the soup feeling queasy.

"Is this one of your brothers, giant chicken?" She said watching as the room became a ball of rainbow lights swimming around.

"No it's me Rick. Are you hallucinating?" The chicken asked worriedly. Karen tried to focus on the chicken but couldn't concentrate so she reached for her medicine. She took a pill and the coloured lights grew brighter as her headache worsened.

"Urghh, the medication's making me hallucinate, Rick. Aren't you normally human?" Karen asked swaying as she sat up. The chicken helped her drink the soup and clucked which Karen guessed was perhaps a chuckle.

"Do you remember the last time you were ill? Actually we were both ill, I'd given you chicken pox." Rick laughed and Karen laughed at the irony.

"Yeah, we were both scratching and our parents bound our hands together to stop us scratching." She said laughing. Rick nodded and started to come into focus a little and look less chicken-like.

"We spend the whole day trying to untie ourselves. I kept apologizing to you for giving you chicken pox but you kept telling me it was okay. You said you would have got them sooner or later being around my chickens." Rick said smiling fondly.

"Yeah, but when you got over them faster than me I got angry saying you had stolen my health. I stayed mad at you for a week thinking I was never going to get well because of you. But finally I got over the chicken pox and had to apologize to you." Karen said laughing. Rick nodded and found Karen a box of tissues.

"I remember feeling so guilty because I thought I really had stolen your health." He said laughing happily. Karen nodded and blew her nose.

"You were so gullible then, you believed everything I said!" She said looking rather guilty.

"Yeah I know. But I always thought you were the cleverest, most beautiful person on earth. I trusted everything you said." Rick said. Karen nodded silently and looked away from Rick. She wondered if he was trying to break her heart.

"Remember when you convinced me that Mayor Thomas was an alien and was going to destroy us. I believed you and tried to find the source of his power." Rick said laughing.

"Yes. Then you thought that if you poured water over him he would melt. So you pushed him into the hot springs." Karen said laughing. Rick smiled and looked at the floor.

"Mayor Thomas thought it was funny but my Mom was so mad!" He said looking slightly guilty.

"My Mom was really mad for me tricking you. She grounded me for a week!" Karen said laughing. Rick nodded and laughed.

"But in the end we spent the week together and I really enjoyed spending time with you. I was so happy to have you as a best friend. To me you are and always have been… perfect." Rick said quietly. Karen watched as Rick leaned in closer, realizing what he was doing she jumped up.

"Well Rick, thanks for the visit. You better not stay or else you'll get my germs." She said hastily. Rick stood up too and shook his head.

"I really don't mind." He said quickly. Karen began to push him towards the door quickly.

"Yes but your mother couldn't do without your help. I really can't have your mother's health endangered because if me. Have a good day. Bye." She said laughing nervously. She pushed Rick out of the door and shut it behind her. She then collapsed in her bed with a sigh of relief. She wondered what Rick was doing… was he trying to break her and Jack up? Was that why he visited her? She took a sip of bodigiser and then turned over in her bed.

"Another visitor, dear!" Sasha called up the stairs. Karen hoped desperately that it wasn't Rick coming back and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Ann.

"Oh, thank God. It's just you Ann." Karen said sinking back into bed with relief.

"Umm, yeah. I brought you some of my special healing tonic." Ann said winking. Karen nodded slyly realizing it was a delicious hot toddy for her to drink.

"Brilliant Ann thanks!" Karen said grapping the drink and taking a sip. Ann smiled and watched Karen enjoy the drink.

"So who did you think it was?" Ann asked curiously. Karen looked angrily at the window and explained. Ann looked slightly shocked at Rick's behavior but sighed.

"Rick stupidly thinks you guys are gonna get back together." Ann said raising her eyebrows. Karen sighed and took a sip of "Ann's healing tonic".

"That's annoying, oh well hopefully he'll give up eventually." Karen said with a sigh.

"We can only hope. Oh by the way Popuri said she'd visit later and so did Jack, I'll tell Poe the story so you don't have to." Ann said. Karen grinned and nodded thankfully.

"Oh and Mary says get well soon and also that this'll give you a chance to finish the book. Sorry Karen, librarian's orders, read!" Ann said jokingly. Karen nodded dutifully and looked at the book.

"Only… half the book to go, I'll read some more later." Karen said glancing to the book on the side.

"Great. How's it going?" Ann asked, gesturing towards the book. Karen glanced at it and grimaced.

"It's a little gruesome. But it's actually pretty interesting, it's about these boys who get stranded on an island and try to form a community but end up killing each other!" Karen said sounding a little excited. Ann grinned and flicked through the book.

"Sounds like my kind of book!" She said. Karen laughed and told Ann to ask Mary if she could read it next.

"So how are you feeling?" Ann asked feeling her forehead. Karen shrugged and took a sip of her drink. Ann hastily took her hand away.

"Jeez, you're burning up." Ann said. Karen nodded calmly and felt her head.

"Is it flu?" Ann asked backing away a few feet.

"Doc says it's a cold but it could be flu. I blame the medicine for the fever and hallucinations." Karen said shrugging. Ann's face brightened up as she looked at the medicine.

"Wow, hallucinations! Are you hallucinating now?" She asked excitedly. Karen looked at Ann sarcastically.

"What do you think giant talking wine bottle?" She said. Ann laughed and put down the medicine.

"What's it like when you do hallucinate?" Ann asked. Karen shrugged and thought about the coloured lights and giant chicken.

"I started seeing rainbow colours all around and I saw my Mom as a giant hippo and Rick as a chicken." She said. Ann laughed and imagined Rick as a chicken.

"Cool, I'm taking me one of these tablets!" She said pouring a pill into her hand. Karen hastily took the pill from Ann.

"No, if you take a pill when you don't need it, it could be really harmful. Even though the hallucinations are cool you don't want to become a pill junkie okay?" Karen said putting the pill back Ann laughed and then sighed.

"Fine, I won't pursue the life of drugs and ruin my life. But you owe me!" Ann said jokingly. Karen laughed and hit Ann with her pillow.

"Good. Now if you don't mind I need to get some shuteye. I'm sick of you visitors so go away." Karen said jokingly. Ann laughed and hugged Karen goodbye. Karen then turned over and went to sleep, resting her head on a soft pillow.

She didn't know how long she had slept for, but when she woke up she saw Popuri leaning over her. Karen jumped in surprise and Popuri screamed.

"I'm sorry I didn't want to wake you!" Popuri squealed putting her hand on her beating heart.

"You scared me." Karen said breathing a sigh of relief. Popuri giggled cutely and handed her a tissue.

"Hey, um Karen, you might want to us this!" Popuri said. Karen accepted the tissue and blew her nose loudly. She grinned and looked at Popuri as if to say there-is-that-better. Popuri grinned and nodded then handed Karen a warm chocolate chip cookie.

"How did you know?" Karen asked happily taking a huge bite. She felt the chocolate chips stick to her mouth deliciously.

"Mmmm, Poe this must be the best cookie ever, you're a star cook!" Karen said her mouth full of cookie. Popuri smiled and raised her eyebrows. Karen knew she could make many sarcastic comments about Karen's cooking, but that just wasn't Popuri, partly because lacked the intellect.

"So you really like it?" Popuri asked eying the cookie critically. Karen swallowed the last cookie crumbs and licked her lips.

"Popuri, would I lie to you?" Karen said savouring the cookie crumbs on her lips. Popuri smiled and then handed Karen a whole basket of cookies.

"I was bored so I baked a whole batch for you to enjoy. Don't eat them all at once!" Popuri said waggling a finger and winking.

"No m'am." Karen said obediently while eying a cookie with a hungry expression on her face. Popuri giggled and gestured for her to have another. Karen grinned thankfully and helped herself to another.

"May I?" Popuri asked. Karen nodded quickly and handed her a cookie. Popuri ate hers hungrily and then helped herself to another. Popuri wasn't a pig but she sure had a sweet-tooth, Karen on the other hand, well… Karen helped herself to a third cookie and grinned at Popuri. They laughed and ate cookies for a while as Karen told Popuri about Elli and the Doctor.

"Oh wow, they are so perfect for each other!" Popuri exclaimed happily. Karen nodded in agreement.

"Yeah I know. But how are the other couples in town, to be honest I've been so caught up with myself that I haven't cared!" Karen said blushing guiltily. Popuri nodded understandingly and helped herself to some milk that Sasha had brought up in exchange for a cookie.

"Well let's see. There's Ann and Cliff, who are close but not close enough to marriage. Then there's me and Kai, well… I can only hope. Then there's Mary and Gray who are pretty much… non-existent… Then all alone now, there's Rick." Popuri said looking slightly sad at her brother's loneliness.

"But I still think he's a bit in love with you…" Popuri said. Karen snorted with some anger, in her opinion Rick should have just gotten over her.

"Yeah well… I'm not in that place and probably never will be." Karen said coldly. Popuri looked slightly taken aback by the chill in her voice.

"I'm not accusing you of anything you know." She said sounding upset. Karen smiled in apology and gave Popuri a reassuring hug.

"Oh I'm sorry, I know you're not. I'm just upset over what Rick did today…" She said sounding a little angry. Popuri gazed at her reassuringly.

"I know, Ann told me. He can be a jerk." She said, not bothering to stick up for her brother. Karen nodded and smiled weakly. Popuri glanced quickly at her watch and looked disappointed.

"Sorry Karen I have to go. If I stay out any longer Rick'll get mad." She said sounding annoyed.

"Oh, no problem. I'll just sit here in my solitude…" Karen said. Popuri looked sympathetic and gave Karen a goodbye hug. She then left leaving Karen alone with her thoughts. She began wondering whether life was more or less complicated outside of their island. Perhaps Mineral town was the closest thing to paradise. Kai had always said life was a lot more relaxing there and everything seemed to go slower. She began to drift off as she thought and she woke up the next day to a knock on her door.

"Hey, Karen!" Jack said walking into the room. Karen moaned and watched him walk over to her bed.

"Sorry I didn't come yesterday, I had to go and mine up some ores. But today I'm all yours!" He said gleefully sitting on her bed. Karen blinked and sat up.

"Okay, good. You can start by passing me my medication and that bodigiser!" She said gesturing to the pills and bottle of blue liquid.

"Right sure! Also I come bearing gifts!" He said as he offered her a bunch of white flowers. Karen grabbed them and sniffed them blushing.

"Oh Jack, where did you get these in the middle of winter?" She squealed happily. Jack grinned proudly at the flowers.

"They're snowdrops. I walked to the top of the mountain yesterday and thought they'd be perfect for you." He said obviously happy that Karen liked them. Karen got up to fetch a vase for them and smiled gratefully.

"They're so beautiful. Thank you Jack… I feel better now!" She said happily. Finally her nose was clear but she still felt a little shivery.

"Good, how long do think it'll be until you recover?" He asked.

"I'll probably be better by tomorrow… so if you spend all day with me it may boost my recovery!" Karen said slyly. Jack grinned and gave Karen a big hug and rubbed her back gently. The hug went on for a few minutes then she offered Jack one of Popuri's cookies and milk. Jack gladly accepted and munched his quickly barely chewing at all.

"So what have you been up to?" She asked grabbing a brush and running it through her tangled hair. She knew how terrible she must have looked, all pale and sweaty. Jack thought for a moment and helped himself to another cookie.

"Just the usual really. Taking care of animals and mining. No crops to plant in winter so I guess I'm slightly less busy." He said, obviously bored from the tedium of winter farming. "What about you?"

"Lying in bed mainly. Ann and Popuri visited me and also Rick." She said trying to sound indifferent.

"Rick visited… Was that awkward?" Jack asked sounding sorry for her and the teensiest bit jealous. Karen wondered whether to tell him or lie. She guessed that she had done nothing wrong and Jack seemed to trust her. She sighed and took a sip of milk.

"Well we started discussing when he gave me chicken pox as a child and to begin with it wasn't awkward. Then he started telling me things like "you're perfect"." She said putting on a nerdy voice at the point when Rick spoke. Jack nodded intently taking sips of milk.

"Then before I knew what was happening… he leaned in to kiss me. I pushed him away of course then threw him out." Karen said quickly. Jack chuckled and looked pretty amused. Karen felt confused at his lack of worry.

"Ha, I didn't think Rick would get over you." He said laughing. Karen gaped at him, he wasn't mad.

"Aren't you angry, or upset?" Karen asked. Jack looked blank and then shrugged.

"Nope. I trust you completely and to be honest I expected Rick to try this at some point…just not when you're sick! He must be desperate to try and get you back!" He said laughing. Karen didn't know what it was but she felt rather angry. She knew she should be happy that he trusted her but all she could think was that she wished he was angry. She wished he would run over to Rick's in a fit of fury, kick down the door and beat him up. Yet he was laughing and simply shrugging it off.

"So you're not mad at me or Rick in the least?" She asked scowling a little. He looked at her and cocked his head.

"Of course I'm not mad at you, it's not your fault. I'm maybe a little mad at Rick." He admitted and Karen breathed a sigh of relief. Jack hugged her and she snuggled against him feeling happy.

"Even if you had accidentally let him kiss you I wouldn't have been mad. Because I trust you and I know you'd never do anything to hurt me on purpose." He said softly. Karen smiled and a spark of happiness jolted in her stomach, he was the best boyfriend. She really wanted to kiss him then but she didn't want to give him her germs and so was satisfied with the hug.

"Can we go out to lunch when I'm feeling better?" Karen asked sweetly. Jack nodded happily and checked his watch. His stomach rumbled right on queue and he put his hand to his stomach.

"How about I go to the inn now and fetch us some lunch?" He asked standing up. Karen nodded gleefully as he walked out to fetch them some food. She hoped he knew what her favourite lunch special was, he'd probably ask Ann. Half an hour later he came back with their lunches, for her he had French fries and pizza and for himself a boxed lunch.

"I hope you like French fries..." He said feigning worry. She grinned and took her fries happily.

"I love 'em!" She said happily. Jack grinned and began to eat his box-lunch as she dipped her fries in some ketchup. They ate and talked for a while discussing the people of the village and the relationships.

"I think Mary does like Gray... but last I heard she had a huge crush on Kai!" Karen said. Jack's eyes widened and he grinned.

"On Kai! Poor Mary, that's never going to happen! Though to be honest Gray told me that he used to have a crush on you!" He told Karen. Her eyes widened in question and he nodded.

"Hmmm, did you know that Elli had a crush on you when you first arrived...?" She asked smiling. Jack shook his head and he gasped dramatically.

"No?" He said gaping for effect. Karen nodded and he laughed.

"Yep, but then she began falling for the Doctor and realised he liked her so she got over that pretty quick." She said as Jack smiled.

"Do you think Mary and Gray'll get together eventually?" Jack asked. Karen shrugged and snuggled up to him.

"I'm not sure...maybe. Or maybe Rick will get there first... To be honest I think Gray deserves her more." Karen said indifferently. Jack smiled and hugged her tightly.

"What about Aja, I've never met her. Where is she?" Jack asked curiously.

"I think she moved to the mainland. She got sick of Duke so she left... It broke Manna's heart." Karen said sadly. Jack frowned and stroked Karen's cheek gently.

"Do you think she'll come back...? Then maybe Rick could have someone." He said thinking. Karen shrugged and then yawned.

"So what do want to talk about now that we've told all of the villager's secrets?" He asked grinning. Karen thought deeply for a moment then looked into Jack's deep, chocolate eyes.

"The future..." She said deeply then seeing the panic on Jack's face added, "The village's future I mean." Jack gave a small sigh of relief and smiled.

"I hope it stays as pure and untouched as this forever." Jack said, he sounded distant and slightly worried.

"It can't..." Karen said after while. Jack looked at her in question and she sighed.

"Jack, you're the only new person in this village, unless new people come we won't have any more generations. There'll be two more generations after this and then... we'd either have to mix or bring in other people. Soon we'll all be related and we pretty much are now!" Karen said in panic. Jack looked slightly worried and then smiled.

"It'll all work out." He said calmly. Karen looked at him in wonder and curiosity.

"How?" She asked. Jack smiled a knowing smile.

"Because more people will hear about the island and want to come." He said surely. Karen nodded and trusted that he was right. Everything would work out in the end. Karen wondered if she should be so bold as to ask about their future but she decided against it. They hadn't been together long enough and hadn't even mentioned the L-word. After hours of talking the sky began to darken and Jack had to get back to his farm. He leaned into to kiss her goodnight but she kissed him on the cheek instead mentioning germs. Jack smiled and headed home and left Karen feeling brilliantly happy. Once he left, Karen collapsed on her bed, ready for her recovery sleep. She dreamt that night of what life might be like if she married Jack, it was like heaven on earth in her dreams. She had never been a girl who dreamt about marriage, in fact for a long time she had dreaded it. She'd always felt that her life would pretty much become unbearable with the same old house wife routines. She thought that her love life would completely deteriorate and she would become a sad, bored housewife. But in her dreams of a marriage to Jack she was happy. Jack sat at the dinner table reading the newspaper and joking about the neighbours as the kids played happily in the garden. She and Jack ate dinner every night together and discussed their day and she was happy. But she had to wonder, was that really how her married life would be?

She woke up to the sound of her mother banging hard on the door with the Doctor following behind. Karen blinked a few times and yawned as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She then stretched with cat-like elegance as the Doctor set down his medicine box.

"Mornin' Mom, mornin' Doc." She said happily. Her mother smiled and handed Karen a piece of toast for her breakfast. She munched it and swallowed it down as the Doctor took out his equipment.

"Karen, you sound a bit better." He said as he stuck a thermometer in her mouth.

"Yeah I feel fine. I think I'm ready to finally get out of bed." She said hopefully. The Doctor frowned and looked at the reading on the thermometer. He then looked at her throat.

"Right... you have no fever and no infection in your throat. I don't think it's infectious anymore so... you're free to leave your room." He said with a smile. Karen sighed with relief as her mother and the Doctor left. She then began the huge task of making herself look slightly presentable. She brushed her hair and teeth and changed into her usual winter outfit. She wore long jeans and a thick purple fleece with a plain cotton shirt underneath. She smiled slightly at her reflection and headed to complete the chores she had missed.

She spent the first nine days of winter being and making up for being ill. When she finally finished the winter work it was the 10th. She decided to visit Mary and have a book meeting where they could discuss the book. Karen hurried to the library and strolled in. Mary watched her and smiled taking the book from Karen.

"Hi Mary, I finished the book." Karen exclaimed proudly. Mary nodded and placed the book in its rightful position on the shelf.

"How did you like it?" Mary asked. Karen sat down on one of the squishy red armchairs in front of Mary's desk.

"It was really gruesome, but really good too!" Karen said smiling. Mary nodded and smiled her cute little smile.

"Yes. Did you like the discussion within the book about humans being the true beast? That they themselves were the true monster all along." Mary said clapping her hands joyously.

"Oh yes, I totally agreed with that, the only true evil in this earth are the bad feelings that lurk within us." Karen said with interest. Mary nodded happily showing Karen she had got the answer exactly to Mary's liking.

"Yes I agree. Also wasn't it awful when they killed..." Mary began.

"Oh yes! I was so upset, that was my favourite character." She said and Mary nodded. They discussed the book for well over an hour before Mary said that she had work to do in the library. Karen nodded and left. Mary had told Karen that she could read any book in the library when she wanted and could discuss it with her when ever she wanted. Karen's next visit was to her friends, she had no doubt that they would be in Ann's room at the inn, their most common hangout. Karen walked in and saw Popuri and Ann merrily playing cards on the sofa.

"Hey guys! I'm finally done with my catch-up chores." Karen said breathing a sigh of obvious relief. They both smiled and Popuri packed up the cards.

"Oh good, because honestly, I've become sick of Popuri's company." Ann said jokingly. Popuri nodded and then realised what Ann had said.

"Hey!" She whined. "But it is true, we've been bored without you."

"Yeah, we missed you." Ann said giving Karen a hug. Popuri nodded in agreement and joined the hug.

"Awww, I've missed you guys too!" Karen exclaimed happily. "So tell me, what's the gossip?" Karen oozed onto Ann's bed as the girls thought about the current news affairs.

"No news, really. Nothing interesting happens in Mineral town during winter. I hate winter!" Popuri whined wrinkling up her nose.

"Well there's Valentines Day coming up. Who are you guys going to give chocolate to?" Ann asked smiling. Popuri thought for a moment then looked rather sad.

"Well, since Kai's not here I guess I'll just mail him some chocolate cake. I suppose I'll give a piece of cake to Rick out of pity but that's about it." Popuri said.

"I'm going to give a piece of cake to Cliff, of course. A piece to my Dad because he feels pretty lonely on Valentines Day and that's it." Ann said happily. "What about you Karen?"

"Well a piece of cake to Jack of course... erm... Popuri could you help me cook the cake?" Karen asked and Popuri nodded. "I'll give a piece of chocolate cake to Jack then and a piece to my Dad of course. I'll give a box of chocolates to Barley because he's been so kind to me. A box to your Dad, Ann, because he's really kind too. A box to Carter because he's always been so great to me! A box to Rick because I know Valentine's Day must be hard for him and a box to Cliff because he helped us with the wine and he's a good friend. A box to the Doctor for looking after me when I was sick. Then lastly a box to Gray because he fixed my broom for free and made it really good." Karen finished and took a huge breath while Ann and Popuri looked shocked.

"So basically half the town, Karen it's supposed to just be for your sweetheart!" Ann said. Popuri nodded in agreement.

"Karen it's meant to be a romantic festival. Not an excuse to thank people for helping you out, you know that." Popuri said kindly. Karen nodded reluctantly and sighed.

"But I just don't want some people to feel sad because they don't get anything on Valentines Day!" Karen said. Ann and Popuri looked at Karen strangely.

"Karen, you've never been so selfless. Are you okay? Normally you just give chocolate to your sweetheart." Ann said looking a little worried as Karen looked at the floor.

"It's just so many people have helped me this year and I just want to thank them. This seems like the time to do it because the thanksgiving festival is for boys!" Karen whined.

"You sound like Popuri the first time she gave out gifts on the festival!" Ann said laughing. Popuri scowled but eventually nodded.

"Okay, fine. The truth is I'm sick of people thinking I'm totally selfish, so for this once I want to thank the people that have helped me, okay?" Karen admitted. Ann laughed and Popuri smiled.

"That's sweet." Popuri said and Ann agreed so Karen smiled. "And also kinda selfish... if you're only being selfless to stop people thinking your selfish..." Popuri said, confusing herself.

"Anyway... Good so that's what I'm going to do! Then I may force Jack to treat me to a romantic evening!" Karen said dreamily.

"Wait till the starry night festival for that, Valentines Day is just about the chocolates." Ann said.

"Hey, Ann how about we meet up here for a sleepover afterwards." Popuri squealed excitedly.

"Okay, that sounds great!" Ann said.

"Yeah let's do that, now I've got to go and visit Jack, I'll see you tomorrow!" Karen said as she left the inn. She trudged through the snow to the farm and spotted Jack outside exercising Silver.

"Hey Jack!" Karen said happily. Jack looked round and almost fell off Silver. He steadied himself and galloped towards her. He stopped right in front of her and dismounted allowing Silver to run off to the warmth of his stable.

"Hey Karen, great to see you well again!" He said happily. Karen smiled and hugged him tightly. Jack leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.

"You want to come in for some hot cocoa?" He asked hopefully but Karen shook her head sadly.

"Sorry, I have some work at the store. Mainly restocking the shelves, boring! I'll see you on the 14th okay?" Karen said smiling sweetly. Jack looked curious and cocked his head.

"What's the 14th?" He asked. Karen gaped at him, laughing at the fact he didn't know.

"It's Valentines Day silly. It's where the girls give her sweetheart something sweet and chocolaty. This year I'm going to give all the people who have helped me a box of chocolates, but I'm making you something extra special." She told him sweetly. Jack gulped and looked apprehensive.

"You're gonna cook me something?" He said trying to hide the fear in his voice. Karen saw his face and laughed patting his cheek.

"Don't worry, Popuri's teaching me how to bake and I promise I won't put anything weird in it!" She promised. Jack sighed with relief and gave her a hug. Karen kissed him goodbye and headed home to finish her jobs.

On the 13th she headed to Ann's to get cooking lessons. Popuri had decided that Ann should help Karen too so one could teach while the other made sure Karen didn't add poison mushrooms. Karen stood with her arms folded with an apron with the words "hey good lookin' whatcha got cookin'" printed on it. Popuri was wearing a bright pink apron with a picture of lips and the words "kiss the cook" in bold letter on it. First they measured out the flour, the butter and the sugar while Ann watched for any unwanted ingredients being added. Karen scowled at Ann watching her carefully.

"I don't see why I have to be watched. I'm not going to mess this up!" She said angrily as she dropped an egg on the floor. Ann raised her eyebrows.

"You were saying?" Ann asked sarcastically as Karen cleared up the egg. After an hour of Popuri's kitchen nightmares Karen had finally put the cake in the oven, with the right temperature for the right amount of time.

"That was a disaster!" Popuri whined as they cleaned up the mess. Karen had accidentally dropped a bag of flour and the girls and the kitchen was covered in a thin layer of flour. Finally the ordeal was over and Karen had learned how to cook chocolate cake the right way. The girls were covered in flour and had white hair so Ann had jokingly commented that they looked like old ladies, a comment which Popuri had not appreciated. Finally the cake came out of the oven, unburned. It has reason perfectly and Karen thought she saw a tear in Popuri's eye.

"Oh Karen, you can finally cook chocolate cake! Please cook it the way I've taught you from now on!" Popuri said handing Karen a recipe which she slipped into her jean pocket. Karen smiled and iced the cake with chocolate butter icing. She put it in a box and walked home feeling proud and praying to the goddess that she wouldn't drop the cake. The cake arrived home thankfully in one piece as Karen wrapped it ready to take to Jack's house.

Finally it was Valentines Day and Karen went around town delivering the chocolates. Her father smiled happily and gave Karen a hug and most of the older men thanked Karen and told her she was "growing up beautifully" whatever that meant... perverts. Cliff smiled happily and gave Karen a huge hug and Gray actually smiled for once. Rick seemed slightly awkward claiming Karen was sending him "mixed signals" which she admitted she probably was but promised that she didn't mean to. Finally she headed to Jack's with the cake as she had saved the best until last. She knocked happily on his door and watched him grin as she arrived. He opened the cake and commented on its beautiful presentation. He nervously tried the cake and then joke pretended to throw up, receiving a punch from Karen for his show.

"I'm sorry, Karen. It's absolutely delicious, best I've ever tasted and my Mom's is really good. It's so wonderful that you went through so much effort just for me!" He said sweetly and Karen smiled. She then went on to tell him that he could thank him on the thanksgiving festival with a fresh batch of cookies. He laughed and joked that he should have known he wouldn't get something for nothing.

"Well, you can start by thanking me now too..." Karen said hinting. Jack grinned and kissed her gently on the lips. The kiss became more passionate as Karen felt hungry for his kiss. The kiss finally ended and Jack stood up breathing deeply.

"Is that good enough thanks?" He asked jokingly and Karen nodded dreamily.

"Yep, that'll about do." She said breathing heavily. They smiled and she gave him a short kiss goodbye before heading home to get her stuff for Ann's sleepover.

Karen headed into Ann's room and dumped her stuff on the floor seeing that Popuri was already there.

"Good day?" Ann asked slyly and Popuri giggled.

"Not bad, had a great thank you kiss with Jack, maybe the best so far... but then again nothing compares with the first kiss..." Karen said happily.

"Yeah..." Popuri and Ann agreed dreamily.

"What about you guys?" Karen asked. Popuri looked slightly upset but shrugged.

"Well I sent the letter and cake to Kai and then talked on the phone. Not as good as meeting him in person but still pretty brilliant!" Popuri said happily. Ann grinned mischievously.

"Well, I gave Cliff the cake and he suggested we go back to the inn... so we made out on this very bed." Ann said with both happiness and pride. Popuri and Karen dived off the bed making disgusted face.

"Oh shut up guys, it's not like with have cooties!" Ann said angrily. Karen and Popuri laughed and returned to their position on the bed.

"So we all had pretty good day's..." Karen said happily and the others nodded gleefully. They talked about their boyfriends for a while before Ann asked a very awkward question.

"When do you guys think you're gonna do _it_?" Ann asked. Karen jumped and Popuri looked confused.

"Do what?" She asked, cocking her head innocently. She was so naïve. Ann and Karen looked at her sympathetically and Ann whispered in her ear. Popuri went bright red and Karen nodded.

"I've never really thought about it..." Popuri said honestly. "I think I'm going to wait until marriage like my Mom." Karen and Ann nodded, showing that's what they thought she would do.

"Yeah, I thought you would. Don't let anyone push you into it okay Poe!" Karen said. Popuri nodded determinedly then turned to Ann.

"What about you?" She asked. Ann reddened a little and smiled.

"You know I don't think I will wait until marriage. To be honest I've never been worried about the whole pureness thing, my Mom didn't wait and nor will I. Honestly I think Cliff and me... maybe soon..." She said blushing.

"Really?" Popuri asked looking a little shocked. Ann nodded and looked guilty.

"I'm not good like you Popuri... it just doesn't matter that much to me. I just think when the moment's right I'll do it." Ann said. Popuri nodded reassuringly.

"Yeah, honestly I think that suits you, where as waiting suits me. I suppose it's up to what you think is right... but I'd never let anyone rush me into it." Popuri said.

"Yeah, nor would I!" Ann said and Karen agreed. Ann then turned to Karen and she gulped.

"Well, I guess Ann, I'll probably be the same as you... at least I hope I'll be. When the moment's right... and I feel comfortable with the guy... and I think it will be Jack!" She said reddening. Ann and Popuri nodded in understanding.

"Or I may just have some drunken fling!" Karen joked. She expected Ann and Popuri to laugh but instead spotted them staring at her seriously with their eyebrows raised.

"Jeez guys, I'm just kidding!" Karen said feeling a bit angry.

"Yeah but Karen you do go a bit crazy when you're drunk and well we don't want you to get hurt!" Popuri said timidly. Ann nodded looking worried. Karen gazed at them both and scowled angrily.

"We just don't want you to get hurt!" Ann said defensively. Popuri nodded. Karen's face softened and she smiled weakly.

"Guys trust me. I'm not going to do anything stupid like that, okay?" Karen said. Ann and Popuri nodded and then smiled.

"Okay, we trust you, but be careful okay?" Ann said gently. Karen nodded and smiled eager to continue their chatter. After hours of chatting then drifted off contently in Ann's cosy bedroom. When they awoke the next morning they swallowed down some breakfast ready for the day ahead of them.

The days after that went by quickly for Karen she found little time to do anything but her chores. The only interesting news that came her way was that Mary was having a slumber party in light of her seventeenth birthday. Mary was the youngest and so the last to turn seventeen, the other girls would have liked a wild party but Mary was a quiet girl. Instead it was going to be a small slumber party with just the girls with jelly and ice cream and small party games. Karen had bought Mary an expensive perfume as thanks for the lending of many books. Jack joked about the small party for girls only when she told him about it. He'd asked if he could come as he could be girly if he wanted to. Karen really did wish he could come, she knew the party would be rather boring with the childish chatter and games. She knew that Basil and Anna would make sure that their precious little girl had a precious little party. At two o'clock she headed over to Mary's house and was greeted by Anna.

"Ooh, you look pretty tonight Karen! Please put your gift on the table and we'll have an opening session later!" Anna cooed excitedly. Karen nodded and placed her gift on the table, she saw that she was the last to arrive and apologised for her lateness. She could see that Ann and Elli looked bored stiff already. Elli was adult in every way and considered herself far too old to sink to such levels. As for Ann she, like Karen, would have much preferred a wild party. Popuri still had the wonderful ability to still act like a child, she was still so young at heart and in a way Karen was jealous of her for that. Popuri was therefore grinning happily waiting for the games to begin. May had been invited and looked very excited for the party to begin.

"First we're going to play pin the tail on the donkey..." Mary said shyly. Popuri and May cheered while the others groaned. They were blindfolded and spun around then they had to pin a felt tail on a rather ugly donkey picture. Mary went first and pinned the tail very close to the right place and so Anna and Basil cheered. Ann managed to get the tail in roughly the right spot and claimed that it was obvious where the tail was. Elli stuck the tail in the donkey's stomach and Ann commented that she was worried that Elli didn't know where the tail went as she was a nurse. Elli scowled at t Ann's remark and tried to stick the tail on her. Karen went last and ended up sticking the tail right in the donkey's eye. When she saw where she'd put it she gleefully shouted "bullseye!" To which Anna replied, "Karen dear... that's a donkey." Karen laughed as Anna quite honestly was under the impression that she thought the donkey was a bull. Many other party games followed and Mary won most of them. Most of the guests knew that Anna and Basil had rigged the games but Mary seemed oblivious. After the games they had a birthday tea which even Karen admitted was delicious. Then they dressed for bed and spent the night talking childishly about boys. Finally they fell asleep, snuggled up on Mary's floor. Then the next morning they headed home with party bags and cake. Karen headed to Jack's house first to share some of the gossip and the cake with him.

Soon it was the much anticipated Starry night festival, Ann was eating at the inn with Cliff and Popuri was eating quite contently with her family. Karen was eating at Jack's and he had promised to cook all the food himself and have plenty of wine. Karen spent hours getting ready for the event with Ann. However Popuri didn't join them as she was helping her mother cook. Karen had planned her outfit for ages and was only then gazing at it in the mirror. She wore a low-cut black top with a red skirt and red high heels. She had crimped her hair and curled her two bangs at the front. Her make-up as Ann said was perfect and not too obvious but not too subtle either. Ann looked great too. She had taken her sun-coloured hair out of her usual plait and tied it into a bun. She wore a cute yellow dress, one of the only times she had ever chosen to wear a dress, and tan suede leather boots.

"How do I look?" Ann asked her sapphire blue eyes shining. Karen smiled and gazed at her.

"You look like an angel." Karen said honestly and she smiled. They embraced happily and Ann looked at Karen.

"Well you look like a goddess!" She said kindly and Karen looked at her to see if she was telling the truth. Karen could tell Ann was being honest and smiled gratefully. She brushed her teeth one last time and said goodbye to Ann before heading over to Jack's. He greeted her at the door and gazed at her awestruck. He looked pretty good too. He wore nice jeans and a plain black shirt and was wearing just some black socks.

"You look... more beautiful than the harvest goddess herself!" He breathed and she beamed.

"Now, that's blaspheming!" She said grinning and he smiled.

"You look... perfect." He said and she blushed, feeling on top of the world.

"You don't look so bad yourself." She said. He laughed and led her to the table. He pulled out her chair for her and she sat down gracefully. He then served the starter of tomato soup made from his own tomatoes. For the main meal he served vegetable lasagne with peas on the side and finally for desert delicious apple pie and custard. Throughout the whole meal Karen kept drinking more and more wine asking Jack to fill her up. After the meal Jack cleared up the plates and Karen sat on his cosy leather couch. She swayed a little as she walked over to it. She was beginning to become a bit tipsy from the wine.

"Fill me up please Jack!" She demanded holding out her glass. Jack looked at her and took her glass away from her.

"Karen I seriously think you've had enough." Jack said sitting down next to her. Karen giggled drunkly and snuggled up to Jack.

"Fine, I won't have anymore. I'm not... hic... drunk!" She said hiccupping. Jack raised his eyebrows and nodded sarcastically.

"Jack... you know... hic... you're my only friend. You're the only one... hic... who's there... hic... for me." Karen said collapsing onto him.

"Karen, you are so drunk." Jack said. Karen nodded and looked at him for a moment.

"You know... I think you may be right." She said nodding slowly. Jack nodded and sighed.

"Kiss me, Jack." Karen said seductively and Jack leaned in. She kissed him back passionately and began slowly undoing the buttons of his shirt. He rubbed her back gently as she leaned onto him. She began to take his shirt off and Jack jumped up suddenly.

"Karen, this is wrong. I'm not going to take advantage of you when you're drunk." He said putting his shirt back on. Karen glared at him angrily.

"Don't you want me is that it! Wow Jack next time could you tell me you don't like me in that way before I fall in love with you!" Karen yelled angrily. Jack opened his mouth to shout back before realising what she had said.

"You love me?" He asked slowly. Karen put her hand on her head and groaned.

"This is not the situation I wanted to tell you in. Fine yes, but you're gonna break up with me now right?" She said bitterly.

"No, why would I do that?" Jack asked in surprise. Karen looked at him trying to tell if he was telling the truth.

"I just thought you would." She said shrugging. Jack shook his head and went to help Karen put her shoes on. "Do you love me too?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow when you're sober, I'm sure I'm going to have to remind you about a lot of this." Jack said sighing and Karen nodded. "I'll walk you home."

"Okay, but that might be a problem as I can't walk straight." She said hiccupping. Jack walked her home and Karen trudged up to her room.

When she woke up the next morning she had an awful hangover. She felt worse as she remembered more of the night before's events. She felt hot tears drip down her face as she remembered how she'd turned the most romantic night of the year into a drunken disaster. She glumly got ready and then set out to tell Ann and Popuri what had happened or at least what she had remembered had happened. She finished telling them as much as she could remember and wondered if they would tell her that they told her so.

"Oh Karen, I'm so sorry." Ann said as she held Karen in her arms. Karen cried and hugged Ann and Popuri for comfort.

"So now I think he'll break up with me!" Karen wailed. Popuri patted her gently and sighed.

"Karen I'm sure he won't break up with you. If he was a good enough guy not to take advantage of you then he probably won't break up with you." Popuri said reassuringly.

"You really think so?" Karen asked hopefully. Ann and Popuri nodded and Karen hugged them.

"So are you going to go over to apologize?" Ann asked. Karen sniffed and felt a few more tears dribble down her face.

"Yeah, I guess I should. I also want to get my story straight." She said. "But I just don't know if I can face him." Ann and Popuri nodded sympathetically and Ann handed Karen a cup of coffee. After gulping down the coffee Karen bravely decided to pay Jack a visit. Ann and Popuri hugged her and wished her luck then watched her walk out of the door.

"She's doomed." Ann said shortly.

"Uh-huh." Popuri agreed sadly.

Karen knocked on Jack's door and waited nervously outside. Jack walked to the door wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. Karen looked at his tanned six-pack and sighed, that made things so much harder. She felt a few tears run down her face and she took a deep breath.

"Jack, I am so sorry about last night. I was drunk and I had no idea what I was doing. I shouldn't have been drunk and I shouldn't have jumped on you, I am so sorry. I understand if you want to break up with me but could you tell me the whole story first please?" Karen asked, babbling sadly. Jack beckoned her to enter and she sat down on the couch. Jack sat down next to her and explained the story as Karen listened wide-eyes like a lost kitten.

"So then you asked me if I was going to break up with you…and I said no. Then I told you that I'd tell you whether I loved you when you were sober… and here you are sober." Jack said breathing in deeply. Karen looked at him inquiringly and felt her heart beat quickly.

"And…?" She asked feeling her heart beat faster. Jack looked deeply into her eyes and took a deep breath.

"And I…"


	5. Love, marriage and betrayal

5. Love, Marriage and Betrayal

Karen sat on the couch waiting nervously for the answer to her question. The third most important question after "What is my purpose?" and "Will you marry me?". That question was "Do you love me?" She sat there her heart thumping hard in her chest waiting for the answer that would either ruin or make her day. She couldn't tell from his face what the answer would be and as he began his answer time seemed to slow down.

"And I… do love you. I really and truly do." He said smiling. Karen felt happiness bubbling up inside her like the bubbles in the hot spring. She sat still for a moment with a blank expression on her face while tiny creatures in her stomach danced the hula. Jack looked slightly worried until he saw her smile broadly.

"I love you so much too and I'm so happy!" She said hugging him tightly. She kissed him and he kissed back passionately. She didn't know how long they stayed there but she didn't care. She was perfectly happy and had never felt so connected to anyone in her life. Finally the kiss finished and they broke apart. Karen smiled and Jack smiled back, she had never been so happy.

"Oh I have to do my farm work now, I have to feed my animals or boy will they be mad." He said disappointedly. Karen smiled and nodded giving him one last kiss.

"Goodbye… my love." She said jokingly. Jack smiled and laughed as she walked out of the door. She ran to the inn to tell Ann and Popuri the fantastic news she ran in.

"Jack said he loves me!" Karen shouted as she ran through the door. She then spotted Popuri and Ann sitting at a table with Elli.

"The Doctor just proposed to me!" Elli exclaimed happily and Ann and Popuri grinned.

"Gorsh that beats my news by a long shot… congratulations!" Karen said laughing.

"Congratulations to you to!" Elli said happily. Ann and Popuri laughed and grinned at each other.

"Congrats to you both!" Ann said happily. Elli smiled and twiddled the blue feather in her hand happily.

"When did he propose?" Karen asked taking a seat at the table.

"Just last night. It was really romantic. He called me from my house saying there was an emergency at the clinic but didn't tell me what. Then I ran in and saw that there were candles everywhere! He then got down on one knee and told me he loved me and showed me the blue feather. Then he said "will you marry me" and I said yes!" Elli said stroking her finger down the feather. The girls stared in awe at the blue feather as Elli twiddled it.

"So when's the wedding?" Karen asked. Elli blushed pink and smiled.

"Spring 11th, you're all invited!" Elli exclaimed happily. The girls smiled happily and watched Elli stroke the feather again.

"Now I'm going to tell the rest of the village, see you all later." Elli said happily as she skipped off to tell the others.

"Oh I'm so jealous." Popuri said pouting once Elli left. The girls laughed and nodded in agreement.

"I'm happy for her too. But I thought Jack telling me he loved me was a big deal!" Karen said dreamily.

"It is, it's great news. That's so much better than him breaking up with you." Ann said seriously. Karen and Popuri laughed and Ann smiled.

"I remember when Kai told me he loved me…" Popuri said dreamily.

"Yeah and when Cliff told me he loved me…" Ann said also sounding dreamy. They smiled enjoying the memories.

"I wonder who Elli will pick as maid of honor…" Popuri said snapping Ann and Karen out of their daydreams.

"I don't know, probably Mary because they're like best friends." Karen said and the others agreed.

"Doctor Mason is likely to pick Gotz as best men because they're pretty good friends." Ann said.

"Everyone else will probably just be guests." Karen said and the others agreed.

"It'll be nice, this'll be the first wedding we've ever been to…" Popuri said. They looked blankly at each other.

"Yes, this will be our first ever wedding… wow. Elli must be so nervous." Ann said.

"She grew up a lot quicker than us… still this'll mean that our parents put more pressure on us." Ann moaned. They all sighed, both with jealousy and worry. After a short chat they all headed there separate ways to finish their chores. That evening was the stocking festival. The stocking festival was one of the more boring festivals in Karen's opinion. It was a time when parents gave their children gifts to thank them for their backbreaking hard work. The small gifts they were given were measly thanks, usually a bar of chocolate or a bunch of flowers or perhaps an item from around the house wrapped up the night before. It was supposed to be a festival of giving and thanks, instead it was a small present in the morning then the day as usual. That year Karen received a bag of flour to help her with her cooking. She could tell that this meant her parents expected more chocolate cake that was not ruined. Karen had thanked her parents and then put the bag of flour back in the shop, hoping that no one spotted that it said "dear Karen" on it.

A few days later it was time for yet another winter festival for the people of mineral town to enjoy. It was the New Years festival, where one could either spend it in Mineral town square or Mother's hill. Karen had hoped to spend the night on top of Mother's hill with Jack, but apparently he had been specially invited by the Mayor to spend it at town square. So it seemed Karen had to spend New Years alone or spend it at the square watching to her mother stuff her face with buckwheat noodles. How she hated buckwheat noodles. She decided instead of the usual festivities she would go to the bar and drink down the regrets of the past year. On New Years Eve she headed to the inn and walked in. Doug left it open on New Years but made his customers buy the wine from Ellen who volunteered to watch the bar most years. Karen entered and saw that the bar was empty as she had expected, she walked over and greeted Grandma Ellen.

"Slow night, huh?" She asked taking a seat at the bar. Ellen looked up slowly and sighed. Her silvery grey hair was tied into a tight bun and her thin framed glasses balanced loosely on her button nose. She looked tired and had large purple bags under her eyes, obviously affected by the strain of taking care of the bar in her wheelchair.

"Always is. What are you doing here Karen dear?" Ellen asked before giggling. She seemed happier than usual and Karen wondered if she had drunk a bit.

"I'm here because I don't feel the point of going anywhere else. Ellen have you been drinking?" She asked suspiciously. Ellen smiled showing her far-too-straight false teeth.

"Yes dear. I'm allowed to drink at New Years. Alcohol eases the pain of my legs." She said jumpily. Karen shrugged and ordered a bottle of wine and Ellen looked shocked.

"I see you're drinking as much as possible dear. Anything wrong?" Ellen asked, her baby blue eyes wide in concern. Karen shrugged and handed over the money. She pulled the cork off and gulped down the wine. She finished half the bottle before she took a breath and sighed blissfully.

"You know what something is wrong. My boyfriend would rather spend the evening with the Mayor," She grimaced at that point. "Than me." Ellen nodded sympathetically and took a swig of her own wine.

"What is he like gay or something?" She asked in pity and Karen shook her head quickly, looking slightly disturbed.

Suddenly the door burst open and Rick burst in with a grunt. Ellen and Karen both looked at him questioningly and he simply scowled.

"Hey old lady, give me one of them bottles of wine." He ordered trying to sound cool. Ellen handed him a bottle and took the money scowling. Karen glared at him angrily and took another sip of wine.

"Don't talk to her that way you nerd!" Karen said, by that time she was wobbling on her feet. Rick drank three-quarters of his bottle of wine and snarled.

"You're not worth my time." He stated and took another swig of wine. Karen sat down and began to drink again. She finished her bottle and ordered another. After all three people had drunk two bottles each, Ellen announced she would not be serving any more as she couldn't be bothered. Rick wobbled and turned to Karen with a drunken mischievous grin on his face.

"Hey baby, wanna come over to ma place?" He slurred trying to put his arm around Karen. With her last ounce of soberness… and a mixture of drunkenness Karen thought of a "cunning plan". She decided she would go home with Rick and see if he took advantage of her or not. Of course this was a stupid plan as Rick was drunk too and it was a pointless test, but she was drunk and couldn't think straight. She wanted to see if she had made the right choice in picking Jack, but obviously she was drunk, so her thinking was a little off. She nodded and followed Rick over to his house.

She woke up that morning with a massive headache, a terrible start to the New Year. She then felt something moving next to her and sat up with a jolt. She saw that it was not her own bed and stifled a scream. She turned and saw Rick next to her.

"Oh god, oh god. What have I done? Please say this is just a nightmare." She whispered quickly to herself. She pinched her arm and realized it wasn't a nightmare and her heart sank.

"Hey Karen… knew you couldn't resist me." Rick said grinning. Karen felt disgusted with herself and felt hot tears drip down her face.

"No… no… please god no!" Karen whispered tearfully. She looked around and hurriedly found her clothes while Rick grinned at her.

"What's the rush?" He asked slyly watching her change. Finally dressed Karen walked over to Rick and slapped him with all her strength.

"Hey what was that for?" Rick asked angrily. A red handprint had appeared on his face and he rubbed it irritably.

"You know what that was for! I hate you now more than I've ever hated anybody… I… I… I could kill you." She screamed honestly. Hearing the racket Popuri ran in.

"Oh Gosh!" Popuri screamed and then saw Karen glare at her. Popuri glared angrily at Rick then ran out of the room.

"Really could you? Well, I didn't make you get in that bed with me!" Rick shouted spit flying out of his mouth. Karen wiped it off her face with disgust and glared at him.

"Yes but you didn't stop it either. If you were a good guy you would have refused!" Karen shouted her knees felt weak and shaky beneath her.

"I was drunk Karen, I knew no more what I was doing than you did!" He shouted his face red. Karen felt more hot tears drip down her face and she felt like collapsing.

"Rick, you drink like a fish every night, I've seen you drink three bottles without being fully drunk!" She shrieked.

"I'm telling you I was drunk!" Rick shouted. Karen glared at him and he shrank.

"I know you weren't drunk, because when you woke up this morning you knew exactly what had happened. I saw you smirking, you were proud!" She cried. Rick tried to hide his smile but couldn't, she could tell he was glad and it sickened her.

"Fine! I was proud Karen. I got back at you in a way that can't be taken back. No matter what you say, I'll always have been your first! You can't shake this off and eventually the whole town will know and I'll make sure of it. Soon your precious boyfriend will find out and you'll come crawling back to me." Rick said happily and his maniacal laughter filled Karen's ears. Karen's emerald eyes widened as she saw a side of Rick that had never been unleashed before.

"You're evil, Rick. You're actual evil. I can't believe you were ever my friend. I hope everyone does find out so they can see the person you really are. I've got to go." She said crying and she walked out of the room.

"You'll be back Karen… because you can't live without me!" Rick screamed laughing madly. Karen cried and saw Popuri in the hallway. Popuri looked shocked and scared as she walked over to Karen and pulled her into a hug.

"I'll run and tell the village the truth before Rick starts spreading lies. He's going to tell them as soon as possible so its better I tell them now. Karen, go to the church and confess your sins now. It'll help you feel better." Popuri said kindly. Karen nodded and trudged to the church. The floor lurched beneath her and she felt sick, she was impure. She felt awful to spread her impurity into the church but she knew Popuri was right. Besides she had nowhere else to go, she couldn't face her parents. She walked into the church and over to the confession booth. The church was quiet and she could tell that Carter had not yet entered the church. She sat on one of the pews and began to pray to the goddess.

"Please goddess, forgive me. I have done a terrible thing. I have betrayed my family and friends. I… I am no longer pure… I don't deserve to live." Karen whispered crying. The tears burned her face as she whimpered. She heard the back door creak and Carter walked in.

"Oh Karen, what are you doing here so early? You're crying… is everything alright?" Carter asked his eyes crinkled in concern. Karen shook her head and sniffed.

"I need to confess… Carter I've done a terrible thing… the goddess should punish me." She said sniffing. Carter nodded understandingly and putting a hand on Karen's back led her to the confession booth. She sat down on a wooden chair and looked at the floor, unable to look into Carter's kind eyes.

"Forgive me please, for I have sinned. I… I slept with Rick… I was drunk and… and I thought he would refuse. I'm so sorry…" Karen cried and burst into tears again. She heard Carter breathe in sharply as he stopped himself from gasping.

"Oh Karen, my child… You have indeed sinned. You must tell Jack and ask for his forgiveness before the goddess will grant hers…" Carter said, he sounded stuck for words.

"I didn't mean to… I hate myself so much and I… I blame myself." Karen said slowly unable to think through the pain. Carter nodded and brought Karen into a hug. It pained him to see Karen suffering, he had watched her and Rick grow up and loved them both as though they were his children.

"You won't do it again, will you?" Carter asked calmly. Karen shook her head and sniffed.

"Never… Carter… do I have to forgive Rick?" She asked looking up at his kind face with swollen eyes.

"Eventually Karen, yes. If you wish for the Goddess to forgive you, you must learn to forgive others. Whether the Goddess forgives Rick may be another story…" Carter said and Karen let out a small laugh.

"Karen my dear, this won't seem so bad forever. You will smile again… I promise." Carter said wiping Karen's hair out of her face. Karen tried to smile but found she couldn't so she cried instead and buried herself into Carter's black robes.

When Karen left the church she saw the eyes of Mineral town staring at her. Their eyes were filled with pity and disgust. She walked into her house ready to face her parents. Sasha was crying and Jeff simply looked at her with disgust in his eyes. Karen looked at them and found that they couldn't look at her.

"I'm sorry Mom… I'm sorry dad. I hope that one day you can forgive me. I'll get out of your house until you feel you can forgive me…" She said and trudged up to her room to pack a bag. She then walked into the inn and saw everyone whisper into each other's ears. Ann ran over to her and led her up to her room where Popuri was sitting on the bed in tears. Karen collapsed into their arms and they all cried together.

"I'm so sorry my brother did this to you!" Popuri wailed her bottom lip was shaking rapidly.

"I'm impure…" Karen howled and more tear trickled down her wet face.

"I'm so sorry Karen… if it's any consolation whatsoever you're not the first." Ann said sympathetically. Karen looked up with the smallest glint of hope in her red eyes.

"Elli and the Doctor… on the night he proposed…" Ann said. Karen sighed and took a tissue to dry her eyes.

"That's different, they were engaged. Rick and I were… barely even friends anymore." Karen moaned blowing her nose hard.

"But at least you weren't perfect strangers. Karen it could be a lot worse." Ann said trying to console her. Karen sighed and wiped her eyes with a fresh tissue.

"Not in this town." She said and Ann couldn't help but agree.

"I didn't tell Jack. It's best you tell him, so go see him quickly before he hears it from someone else." Popuri said quickly. Karen nodded and ran out of the door to Jack's farm. She knocked on his door and waited nervously outside. When he arrived at the door it appeared he had only just got up. She guessed that he hadn't been told by someone else which was the only good news she could find.

"Karen what's wrong, why are you crying?" He said sounding terrified. Karen felt some tears drip off the end of her nose and she swallowed.

"Jack, I've done a terrible thing. I know you can't forgive me and I'm so sorry." She cried. Jack worriedly took her in and let her seat down on the red couch. She took a deep breath and prepared for Jack's worst reaction.

"Last night I went to the inn and drank too much. I drank way too much and Rick was there and was a bit drunk but still knew what he was doing and he invited me to his house. Then I can't remember much but I woke up the next day in bed with him. So I… I slept with him." Karen said quickly then burst out crying. Jack's face froze and his expression became blank. Karen waited for his reaction, she wondered if he would throw something at her. He sat still for ten minutes without saying a word while Karen cried.

"I'm so sorry. Can you please say something?" Karen begged after a while. Jack swallowed and took a deep breath.

"What do you want me to say?" He asked calmly. Karen cried, she wished he would shout at her rather than act calm. She could tell that he was heartbroken and she felt as though the world was ending.

"Shout at me, or anything! Tell me what you're feeling." Karen cried hysterically. Jack sighed and looked at the floor his face still blank.

"I… I… can't look at you right now. Could you please just… go?" He said quietly. Karen nodded and walked quietly out of the door, her heart snapped in two. She spent the week in Ann's house until her dad came and told her she was allowed to stay in their house as a guest, not as their daughter. Ann and Popuri forgave her straight away but didn't try to pretend that nothing had ever happened. The rest of the townsfolk just watched her as though she were a stranger from a different village whilst whispering. Jack avoided her completely and went to the shop early if he needed something so she wouldn't be around.

Soon spring 11th arrived and Karen prepared for the wedding nervously. She knew that all eyes would not be on the bride. She wondered if she should actually go or whether she would just end up ruining the wedding. She wore a cap in the hope of hiding her face a little and decided to sit in the back row. Carter had promised to sneak her in without people noticing and she hoped she could get through the wedding without destroying it. She entered the church and sat with her cap over her face in the back pew of the church. No one seemed to have noticed her and she breathed a sigh of relief. She spotted Jack and felt her heart lurch in pain. Soon Elli entered in a beautiful blue and white dress with a bunch of pretty spring flowers. Her hair was bouncy and shiny, she looked ecstatic. Everyone commented on how beautiful she looked as she walked down the isle and she had tears of joy in her eyes. The wedding was absolutely perfect and Elli and Dr. James Mason made the perfect couple. Karen sighed with jealousy and watched as they left the church Mr. and Mrs. Mason. The reception was held in the inn afterwards and Karen reluctantly went to give them her gifts. She had bought Elli some beautiful salt and pepper shakers and hoped she was the only one with that gift. She walked up to Elli and congratulated her handing over the gift.

"Congratulations I hope you guys are very happy together." Karen said smiling even though she felt nothing but misery inside. "Your wedding is like the light at the end of a very dark tunnel for me." Elli cried happily and gave Karen a big hug.

"I'm just gonna go now Elli, I don't want to ruin your special day…" She said and turned to leave. Elli stopped her with a smile on her face.

"Only you leaving would ruin the wedding, Karen you've got to cheer up. Get back to your life again, just because you hit a bump in the road it doesn't mean the rides over." Elli said putting her hand on Karen's shoulder. Karen nodded tearfully and gave Elli a smile. Elli smiled back then went to talk with her other guests. Karen walked around the food for a while and sat on the sidelines watching everyone else have fun. She sighed and then spotted Jack. He saw her too and began to walk over. She began to panic, she hoped he wasn't going to shout at her and make a scene. She hastily pulled her cap over her face and pretended not to notice her.

"Hey." He said nervously, Karen peeked from out her of her cap to see if he looked angry. He seemed worried and looked a little nervous about talking to her, so she lifted up her cap and tried to smile.

"Hey." She said trying to sound casual. He glanced at the cap and smiled.

"Nice fashion statement." He said looking at the cap. She took it off and smiled at it, letting out the first giggle in a week.

"Yes, I thought it just screamed wedding." She joked and Jack laughed. She missed his laugh so much, she hated him avoiding her.

"I guess so. I started the cap trend you know…" He joked. She nodded and hid the cap in the lavender dress she was wearing. They smiled awkwardly at each other for a moment.

"Karen, I'm not sure I'm ready to talk to you about what happened yet. Can I come and get you when I am ready. We can go for a walk…" Jack said kindly, he sounded depressed and that made Karen's heart break even more.

"Yes, of course. Don't worry, you don't even have to talk to me until you're ready." She said trying to sound calm. He smiled and nodded before heading off to talk to other people. Karen spent the rest of the party trying to mingle and make her friends and family less ashamed of her again. She had a lot of reparation to do and many people to apologize to. She knew that her heart would mend eventually and until then she had to restore people's faith in her. After the party she went to visit some people to talk and apologize, so just maybe things would be normal again.

The 14th of spring came, the spring thanksgiving festival. The day when the boys thanked the girls for the chocolate they had received from them. From all the adult men she had given gifts to she received a box of cookies from all of them. Gray gave her a giant chocolate chip cookie and a hug, whilst Cliff gave her a raison bran cookie. Jack and Rick gave her nothing which was as she had expected, in a way she was glad of that. She spent most of the day in her room scoffing down the cookies and other comfort foods. She wondered what she and Jack would be doing had none of the alcoholic incidents occurred. She reflected on how alcohol was the cause of everything wrong in her life, yet that still wasn't enough to stop her drinking. She knew that one day things would be normal again, or at least her version of normal.

The next festival was the horse racing festival, which to Karen's disappointment was cancelled due to a severe rainstorm. It had rained for six consecutive days which had left Karen confined to her room for the duration. The six days had left many of Mineral towns residents stuck in their small houses. No one dared to brave the weather which left the general store without customers. By the ninth day of the storm her family had began to loose its nerve. Sasha was moaning about the weather to Jeff and ignoring Karen completely. Jeff had begun talking to himself, referring to his other side as Jeffy.

"No Jeffy, Sasha's not calming down. What? No I'm not going to kill me wife and family." He argued with his other half. Sasha stared out of the window mournfully moaning every few minutes in bored agony.

"Dad! Stop talking to yourself, you're going schizophrenic! Mom, why don't you read a book or something!" Karen shouted in a desperate attempt to keep her parents sane. Sasha just moaned and Jeff mumbled incoherently.

"That's it! Get your raincoats on, I'm taking you over to the inn, maybe someone will offer to baby-sit." Karen ordered loosing her last nerve. Sasha and Jeff jumped to put their raincoats on like naughty children in trouble. Karen put on her raincoat and dragged her parents out into the pouring rain. It was so wet that Karen couldn't see a thing, the rain drops were the size of tennis balls colliding with Karen's face. She and her parents fought through the weather to reach the inn finally arriving in the warm bar. Some of the braver residents were already sitting there looking tired and bored. Ann walked over and greeted Karen with a smile.

"Oh thank goodness you're here. Everyone's gone completely nuts with boredom!" Ann whined giving Karen a big hug. Karen peeled off her raincoat and wiped the hair out of her face.

"I had to bring my parents over my Dad was beginning to talk to himself." Karen said worriedly and Ann gasped.

"I wish this storm would end, I'm going crazy!" Ann said yanking on her hair with a pained expression on her face.

"Me too, it should not rain this much in spring!" Karen said gazing outside. Ann nodded quickly.

"I'll fetch us some drinks, you dry off." Ann said kindly and went into the kitchen. She emerged with two glasses of cider and beckoned for Karen to follow her to her room.

"Tomorrow's supposed to be the cooking festival. Do you think it'll clear up by then?" Ann asked hopefully. Karen looked out of the window and sighed shaking her head.

"No, and for once I was going to show I could cook properly." Karen whined. Ann nodded sympathetically and stared silently out of the window. They talked and played cards until they forgot what card game they were playing. Karen went home to retrieve her stuff and decided to stay at Ann's until the storm subsided. She found it odd how the storm reflected her exact mood. She felt melancholy and the rain seemed melancholy. It had made everyone in town feel exactly the way Karen did, the rain was almost a blessing from the goddess to her. Everyone in town seemed like zombies, aimlessly walking around. Everything seemed black, white and grey like an old movie, but without the music and charm.

The rain continued for another two days and the mayor announced that it was the longest he'd ever seen it rain in spring, which of course cheered the townspeople up a great deal. Finally the rain stopped after eleven consecutive days. Many had thought it impossible for it to rain that long, but they were proved wrong. On the final day the rain stopped and the clouds parted letting golden rays of sunlight in. The townsfolk walked unsurely out of their houses, like animals coming out after a month of hibernation. They blinked in the sunlight and a cheer erupted from the streets. Finally everyone went back to life as it had been before the rain. Karen took this as a sign that the rain storm in her life would soon end and the clouds would part to reveal glorious sunlight. She smiled and stood in the streets gazing up at the sky, feeling hope for the first time in s long time. She spotted a flash of blue coming towards her and focused on the figure. It was Jack. He walked nervously over to her and patted her on the shoulder.

"Hello Karen. I was wondering if you wanted to go for that walk now." He said gently. Karen nodded and followed him up to Mother's hill. The ground was soggy and Karen's feet sunk deep into the mud, but with Jack beside her she didn't care. When they reached the summit they sat down and looked at the sun.

"So how have you been?" Jack asked, sounding sad. Karen looked at him in the eyes and saw the same hurt that she felt within.

"Melancholy, you?" She said shrugging. Jack smiled weakly and sighed.

"I've been better." He said honestly. Karen nodded slowly.

"I'm so sorry about what I did. I never wanted to hurt you. I was just drunk… and stupid." Karen said quickly. Jack nodded in agreement at the drunk and stupid part.

"Yeah, you were. You have no idea how much you hurt me…" He said sadly, his voice wavered and Karen wondered if he was going to cry.

"I know I hurt you badly. I hurt everyone badly. I would give my life to take back what I've done." She said truthfully.

"I know. But you can't take it back. You can never take back the hurt you've caused me." He said sounding almost angry.

"I know that. I'm not asking you to forgive me or even be my friend. I just don't want you to hate me." Karen said feeling close to tears. Jack shook his head and looked out over the cliff. Beneath the mountain were many coniferous trees making the floor beneath Mother's hill look like a green sea.

"I don't hate you Karen… Rick maybe… but you never. I just… It hurts a lot right now. I know you were drunk and had no idea what you were doing. I can't help wondering though… if I had spent New Years with you instead of in the town square, would this not have happened?" He said looking out into the distance. The trees rustled in the wind appearing like waves in an ocean.

"It might not have happened. But it wasn't your fault." Karen said biting her lip. How could she have been so selfish? Just because her boyfriend was busy it didn't give her the excuse to get drunk.

"I… I'm not sure whether or not to blame myself or… blame you." He said thoughtfully. Karen felt unnerved by the fact he was refusing to look at her. She couldn't tell from his voice how he was feeling.

"Why don't we just blame Rick?" Karen suggested. Jack laughed and finally turned around. He had tears shining in his chocolate coloured eyes.

"I do blame Rick. I could… kill Rick." He said angrily his teeth clenched tightly together. "But I don't know what to do… I know I should probably break up with you…" He sounded distant and confused. Karen felt the shards of her heart split even more, into tiny splinters. She knew it was only fair that he should break up with her, but she knew she couldn't take it if he did. She had been so sure that their relationship would work, so sure that they were right for each other. But she had screwed the relationship up so badly.

"But maybe… for relationships to work sometimes people have to give the other a second chance. Besides, I don't want to be without you… I love you Karen." Jack said. Karen almost laughed at how corny he sounded. But it was sweet nonetheless and Karen felt the shards of her heart regroup hopefully.

"So… can we be… are we… do you forgive me?" Karen said unsurely. Jack thought for a moment, battling away any doubts then nodded.

"We are… but you owe me a chance!" He joked and Karen smiled. "I'm letting you off so easy."

"I know. So you have a get-out-of-the-doghouse-free card, use it wisely." Karen said with mock wisdom. Jack pulled her into his arms and they hugged, Karen's personal storm was over and finally things could get back to normal.

Finally the summer was due to arrive and Mineral town was ready for the summer buzz. Popuri was dancing around waiting desperately for Kai to arrive. Karen couldn't help but smile at Popuri's loyalty. She was like a puppy, so loyal and caring waiting for her master to come back against all odds. Karen secretly couldn't wait until Kai's arrival too. She knew how much Rick hated Kai and hoped that Kai would one day take his anger out on him. She also hoped that she could convince Kai to stay instead of leaving, she hated to see Popuri's heart break every autumn. She hoped to have a calm, happy summer and just relax. She wondered what adventures were in stall for her that summer.


	6. All's fair in love and war

Hey guys, thanks for reviewing :)! I'm glad Jack and Karen are on good terms, makes me smile inside. Let's see if it can stay that way, shall we.

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6. All's fair in love and war

The warm summer air drifted to mineral town and already on the first day of spring Pink-cat flowers had bloomed. The salty, sea air blew from the beach and gave the residents of mineral town the urge to visit their very own beach. Karen lazily opened her eyes and got ready for a day ahead. She wore a purple bikini and a plain white shirt over the top and a light blue skirt. She stepped out of the door and breathed in the summer air. She heard feet patting the ground coming towards her and saw a pink dot closing in on her. It was shouting something as it ran and Karen watched it on its path towards her. When it was a meter away from her she realized it wasn't going to stop and it had become too late for her to run. Suddenly the pink thing collided with her and knocked her to the hard ground. Winded, Karen stood up puffing and saw Popuri stand up too.

"Kai's here! Kai's here!" She exclaimed loudly. Karen breathed deeply and nodded.

"I guessed, have you told Ann yet?" Karen asked. Popuri shook her head and grabbed Karen by the hand to lead her to the inn. After the exact same collision with an incredibly pissed off Ann they were ready to visit Kai. Popuri dragged them up to Kai's room to say hello.

"You do know that I've already seen Kai. I already knew he was here, I do work in the inn you know." Ann groaned. Karen sniggered and allowed herself to be dragged up to Kai's room. He was obviously expecting them as he opened the door as soon as they were about to knock.

"Popuri, hey honey! I've missed you so much." Kai said taking Popuri into his arms. Popuri grinned and blushed, she never looked happier than when she was with Kai. The same wave of happiness seemed to radiate off him too as they became whole in each others arms.

"I've missed you too Kai!" She said happily. Karen and Ann smiled at each other, Popuri was truly back from zombieland.

"Well, we'll leave you two lovebirds alone." Ann said slyly and led Karen out of the room.

"Every year…" Karen mumbled as they trudged down the stairs to make some tea. Popuri's joyful mood would last all summer, which meant a distinct lack of sleep for Karen and Ann.

"Who do you think will win the swimming race this year?" Ann grumbled adding half a pot of sugar into her tea. The tiny white lumps melted into the dark liquid becoming a thick syrupy concoction which Ann poked with her teaspoon.

"No idea. Jack or Kai I guess. I can't believe it's been over a year since Jack arrived." Karen said dreamily. Ann nodded and sipped her tea-like drink.

"Yeah, he's become part of the town now. My bet it is on Kai winning this year, he so badly wants to beat Jack…it's a pride thing." Ann said knowledgably.

"What is it with guys having to win?" Karen asked taking a sip of coffee. Ann shrugged and made a face.

"I swear the opposite sex is like an alien species!" Ann said making Karen laugh with coffee coming out of her nose. She wiped her nose and glared at Ann, and Ann flashed a 'who-me-?' look.

"Popuri's taking ages, let's just meet her there." Karen suggested, knowing that they would be a _very_ long time. Ann nodded and called up to Popuri that they were leaving.

At the beach was the usual assortment of junk-foods: Hot dogs, hamburgers, corndogs, cotton candy and anything that was high in fat and low in anything good. Ann and Karen set out there towels and lay in the sun before the race, allowing the warm sun rays to bronze their pale winter skin. The mayor was wearing tiny red swim trunks with his potbelly hanging over the edge almost precariously. The sickening sight of his pale skin and fat rolls was enough to make Karen want to bury her head in the sand. She watched the various couples on the sand hugging and wondered when Jack and Cliff would come. She looked out at the sapphire blue sea and smelt the delicious salty scent. More than anything, perhaps even alcohol, she loved the beach and sea. The thought that all earth's creatures had once originated from the sea amazed her. She felt so much a part of it, the beautiful life giving waters of the sea. The waves rolled lazily against the sand like a dog, lapping it with its foaming tongue and knocking over the sandcastle May had worked so hard on. Karen sat up and punched Ann on the arm.

"Ouch, what?" Ann asked moodily rubbing her arm and resisting the urge to punch back.

"Let's go for a swim." Karen said, her green eyes sparkled, the thought of swimming in ocean exciting her. Ann sighed and nodded, reluctantly stretching to stand up. Karen smiled and dashed off into the ocean feeling the cool water against her skin. She swam beneath the crystal blue waters and held her breath, watching the exotic fish dart about like undersea fairies. She surfaced and breathed in the cool air, wind batting gently against her face. She spotted Jack and hurried up the beach dripping wet, the delicate pads of her feet making light imprints on the golden sand. She gave him a wet hug and grinned happily. The Mayor spotted that all the men had arrived, he had been watching men too much for his own good that day, and cleared his throat signaling an announcement.

"Could all participants please line up on the edge of the beach?" The Mayor asked. Ann looked at the lineup and frowned.

"Hey Karen, why don't you enter? You're a great swimmer, you could so whip some ass!" Ann exclaimed. Karen made a face and looked unsure.

"I don't know, I think it's just for men." Karen said. Ann frowned angrily and looked determined.

"That's so sexist. I know it's been just for men since like… forever. But times are changing and I think it's time for a revolution, so you enter." Ann said determinedly her fists clenched. Karen considered it then nodded with determination.

"Okay!" She exclaimed and went to stand in the line up. The mayor spotted her and walked up laughing, sounding like a drowning seal with his bark like bellows.

"Karen, stop fooling around. Only men enter the swim race." He said smiling good-naturedly. Karen smiled sweetly and stood her ground.

"Well this year I'm entering." She said firmly. The mayor frowned and looked at the townspeople for support.

"But… tradition." He murmured sheepishly. Karen shrugged and stood still.

"Times are changing. I think it's time women were allowed to enter. We're as good as any men!" Karen said. This caused an uproar of agreement amongst the women. Duke frowned and walked over to help the mayor.

"Look, it's always just been for the men. We're not saying women can't enter, we're just saying it would be safer if they didn't enter… we don't want any drownings…" Duke said chuckling. He then imitated a woman's voice saying "oh my gosh I broke a nail, oh no I'm sinking!" The men laughed whilst the women frowned angrily. Ann hurried over to help on Karen's side.

"We women are just as good as men. We can swim as well as, if not better than, men." Ann snarled angrily, looking like a lioness with her intimidating golden mane poofed out. The women nodded and cheered in agreement while the men frowned.

"You women couldn't even make it past the first lap." Duke said grinning.

"Wanna bet?" Ann asked angrily. The mayor shrank and looked disturbed while the women and men glared at each other.

"I know, why don't you let me participate in the race. If I come in the first three you let women participate in the festival next year." Karen said cunningly. Duke frowned and laughed.

"You'll have to come first to win that right." He said challengingly. Karen looked determined and nodded.

"Fine, I'll do it." She said surely. Ann looked worried and the mayor looked confused.

"Karen, are you sure you can win?" Ann whispered. Karen nodded and looked even more determined.

"You'll have to beat me!" Jack said laughing. Karen shrugged and looked at Jack challengingly.

"I'm not gonna go easy on you, you know." Jack said looking serious.

"Nor will I go easy on you." Karen said calmly. The men all smiled, confident that they would beat Karen.

"Fine, fine." The mayor said sounding flustered. "Welcome to the annual swimming festival. Today is special as we have a lady competing against our men."

"On your marks, get set… GO!" Zack shouted. Karen dived into the water and front stroked rapidly, she was a lady of the ocean, with all the grace of a mermaid gliding through the water. She was just behind Kai and Jack when they past the buoy and began the turn around. Karen thrashed against the water and saw that Jack and Kai were a little way away from the shore. She quickly dived under the water and swam swiftly towards them.

"Karen had disappeared beneath the water, where is she?" The Mayor asked nervously. Jack was just about to touch the sand and declare himself winner when Karen dived out of the water and onto the beach.

"No way, Karen won?" The Mayor exclaimed with shock. The girls ran over to congratulate her, squealing with happiness.

"No way! She cheated she went underwater!" Duke shouted angrily but the mayor shook his head.

"Nope, there is nothing in the rules about having to be above water." The mayor said. Duke collapsed on the sand angrily and Manna went to laugh at him.

"Karen wins!" The mayor announced, his red hat seeming to droop with sadness (yes he even wore it to the beach) and all the women cheered. Ann lifted up Karen's hand and grinned while Jack shook her hand and grinned.

"Awww, beaten by a girl!" Kai said sadly. Popuri laughed and looked victorious. The women cheered and began to shout "speech!"

"This is one small step for woman, one giant leap for womankind!" Karen announced proudly and the women cheered for what seemed like the seventh time that day. Karen slept well that night and announced to her mother that it had been the best beach day ever.

The next day was due to be another day on the beach with her friends for Karen. She hurried out of the house and rushed to the beach. When she arrived she found only Kai there, she was apparently early.

"Am I early?" She asked taking a seat on the little blue bench in the beach. Kai looked at his watch and looked tired.

"Well you're not late. It's seven o'clock, I think we're both early." Kai said yawning. Karen nodded and beckoned to Kai to sit next to her. While she was alone with him she had some plans of her own.

"Hey Kai, where do you think your relationship with Popuri is headed?" Karen asked focusing on Kai. Kai looked shocked at the directness of her question and shrugged, a look of confusion wrinkling his handsome face.

"Well… um… I don't know… it's fun…" He said, Karen could see beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead.

"Only fun?" Karen said sounding slightly angry. Kai looked worried and shook his head quickly.

"No… it's just… well… Karen… I haven't had this conversation with Popuri yet so I'd rather discuss it with her." He said quickly. He looked relieved that he had come up with a good excuse and leaned back on the bench. Karen ignored him and pressed on with her interrogation.

"So do you think you'll get married...? If so please do it soon, I don't think Popuri will survive until next summer without you." Karen said frowning. Kai's eyes widened in fear at the word 'marriage' and he froze.

"Well um… but I can't leave my hometown for good just yet. Maybe Popuri could come with me…" Kai said thoughtfully. Karen froze at the thought of Popuri leaving. Popuri couldn't leave, Karen knew she wouldn't survive without her.

"Why can't you move here?" Karen asked. Kai sat forward and looked both worried and distant.

"It's… complicated." He said after a while. Karen frowned and decided to leave it at that. Finally Ann, Popuri, Gray and Jack arrived. They had all taken the day off to spend a day together.

"Hey, my two favourite people in the whole world!" Popuri said happily. Ann frowned and glared at Popuri.

"Hey! Then what am I, chunky tuna?" Ann asked angrily. Popuri looked confused then laughed loudly when she realised what she'd said.

"Oh right! Then I mean two of my three favourite people in the world!" Popuri said giggling. Jack frowned and feigned looking hurt.

"What about me... what am I worth to you? It's over Popuri!" Jack said in false sadness. Popuri looked worried and frowned.

"What? Oh Jack I'm sorry... it's just I've known them longer... please don't be mad." Popuri said worriedly. They all laughed and Popuri looked angry.

"Sorry Popuri, that was a joke! Did you not get that?" Jack asked. Popuri looked confused then her face lit up as it clicked. She giggled happily and patted Jack on the arm.

"Oh I get it... that's funny!" She said amiably. Jack smiled awkwardly and gave Karen an is-she-always-like-that look.

"Hey guys! Let's go swimming!" Ann exclaimed to change the subject and dived headfirst into the water. The others followed and caused a giant splash. Karen splashed Popuri and Popuri splashed back. Ann splashed both of them to make them stop, receiving two splashes for her efforts. Cliff, in defence of Ann splashed Karen and Popuri, so started a great splash war. The splash war lasted most of the day and included any of the innocent passers by as well. Finally in the evening they had finished their fun and were ready for dinner at Ann's. They hurried to the inn laughing and reminiscing about their day. Karen had needed some fun, she had managed to mess a lot of things up and had been miserable before. They walked into the inn and sat down at a table. Doug strode over and gave Ann a wink and took out a notepad and pen.

"Good evening, sirs and madams, what would you like to drink?" He said trying his hardest to sound posh, but sounding more like a retard. Ann gave him a withering look and Doug laughed.

"Well... I'll have a beer." Ann said.

"Yeah me too!" Jack and Cliff said at the same time. Ann nodded and watched Doug note it down.

"Drinking at your age young lady?" He asked, his orange eyebrows raised, Ann rolled her eyes and continued with the ordering.

"How about we order six beers?" Ann asked. Everyone nodded in agreement apart from Karen who sighed.

"No, I can't. I promised I wouldn't drink again, so I won't. I'll have a... um... pineapple juice." Karen said sadly. Doug nodded and went to fetch their drinks. A few minutes later Doug brought back the drinks and placed them delicately on the table, with coasters.

"Let's have a toast!" Ann announced holding up our glass. The others nodded and reluctantly held up their own glasses. "To our friendship!" Ann said as they touched their glasses. Doug then took their meal orders and hurried to cook everything. They finished their meals and sat contently, cradling their full bellies. The door suddenly opened and Rick burst in looking angry. He then spotted Jack and glared at him.

"Oh, I was going to order a drink, but I've just noticed the smell in here." Rick said glaring at Jack. Jack stood up and Karen pushed him back down again.

"Just ignore him, don't lower yourself to his level." Karen whispered and felt Jack's shoulders relax.

"You're right, let's all just... ignore him." He said glancing at Rick angrily. Rick kept drinking beer after beer for half an hour while the others chatted, trying hard to ignore his glares.

"Hey, Jack. You know your girlfriends good in bed!" Rick slurred chuckling to himself. Jack turned bright red, but turned away trying to ignore Rick. Doug frowned and raised his eyebrows at Rick.

"I think you had better leave Rick." Doug said calmly, taking away Rick glasses and washing them up.

"I ain't doing anything wrong. He's the one who stole my girlfriend!" Rick shouted pointing at Jack. Jack stood up angrily and marched towards Rick.

"Maybe, she was just getting someone better than a nerd like you!" Jack shouted angrily. Rick laughed in a high pitch and glared at Jack.

"It's funny, you say that but I'm the one she picked to sleep with." Rick said. Jack turned a dangerously dark shade of red and glared angrily at Rick.

"Picked is an overstatement." Karen muttered, burying her head in her hands.

"I had the same chance you did, but I love her enough not to take advantage of her." He spat and Rick turned fuchsia. Karen stood up angrily and walked towards them.

"Alright break it up. Let's just go, please Jack." Karen begged. Jack shook his head and stood still, determined to make a show of machismo. Rick pushed Karen against a table and she fell hard against it, losing her balance and falling to the floor.

"The moment you arrived you went for her. You asked her to the goddess festival and even danced with her! You were out to split us up from the beginning and the whore let you!" Rick screeched, and Jack looked at the floor. Karen rubbed her back and stood up, wondering why what Rick had said made sense. It was true, it did seem like Jack had been out to break them up from the beginning, was she really a whore?

"I didn't want to break you up. Karen was the first person who tried to help me. She was really kind to me and I only wanted to be her friend. I didn't intend to split you up, but I'm sure that's how it must have seemed and she is _not _a whore." Jack said looking at Karen. She nodded understandingly and glared at Rick.

"Liar!" Rick hissed looking from Karen to Popuri for support. Popuri glared and looked upset and Kai put his arm around her soothingly.

"I'm not lying. You took advantage of her and she never really loved you, so what's the point in still fighting. It's over, so just get over her." Jack said calmly. Rick's eyes widened in anger and he stepped closer to Jack. Jack stood his ground as Rick edged closer. Suddenly Rick swung his fist forward with all his might and hit Jack squarely between the eyes. Jack recovered quickly and punched Rick in the face making his glasses smash and fall to the floor. Rick tried to punch Jack in the stomach but he dodged and hit Rick in the nose. Blood began to pour from his nose, drops of rosy red blood fell to the ground and Rick screamed in pain. He punched Jack in the eye quickly making Jack fall backward. He quickly regained his balance and punched Rick in the gut.

"Stop it!" Karen screamed. Doug hurried over to restrain Rick but he grabbed one of the small, glass vases on the bar and smashed the end off. He pointed the jagged edge at Jack and lunged forward. Doug grabbed Rick quickly and Ann rushed over and wrenched the vase out of Rick's hand.

"I'm sorry Rick, you're banned from the inn until further notice." Doug said angrily and dragged Rick out of the inn. Karen rushed quickly over to Jack, and shot an angry glance at Rick as he was dragged away.

"Jack, are you okay? I'm so sorry." Karen said worriedly. Jack nodded and swayed on his feet.

"I'd better take him home guys, see you tomorrow." Karen said steadying Jack.

"Okay bye." Ann said sounding distant. Karen helped Jack out of the bar and began to take him home.

"I've never seen Rick act like that..." Popuri mumbled looking distraught. A small tear ran down her face as she hugged closer to Kai.

"Nor have I, I'm so sorry Popuri." Ann said sadly. Popuri sniffed and nodded.

"Can I stay with you tonight Ann, I don't want to go home." Popuri said beginning to cry. Kai hugged her tightly and Ann nodded. Popuri kissed Kai goodnight and trudged up to Ann's room. Kai and Cliff headed up to their rooms in the inn and Ann locked up downstairs, before heading up to her room.

Karen took Jack into his house and fetched him a cold flannel. She put it on his eye and sighed.

"I'm so sorry Jack, you're gonna have a shiner." Karen said. Jack moaned and collapsed on his bed.

"Sorry for fighting Karen, I just couldn't stand him saying that stuff about you." Jack said and smiled weakly. Karen shook her head and fetched Jack a new flannel.

"I'll come and pick you up tomorrow and we can get the doctor to check it out... just in case. I'm sorry I can't stay, but my mother would kill me, after..." Karen stopped and exhaled loudly. She spotted that Jack had drifted off and kissed him gently on the cheek.

"Goodnight Jack." Karen said softly and tip-toed quietly to the door.

The summer passed quickly, and it was soon the 24th of summer, the fireworks festival. Karen wore a silky black dress and Popuri wore a flowing, flowery summer dress and Ann wore her usual coveralls. Karen and Jack settled on the edge of the dock and Karen leaned her head on his shoulder as they watched the beautiful splashes of coloured light. She spotted Kai wonder over to Popuri with a mischievous look on his face. He suddenly held put a long blue feather out to Popuri and she looked shocked. She nodded quickly and Karen realised what had happened. She jumped up and lost her balance and began tipping off the dock. She grabbed Jack and squealed as they both tumbled into the cool ocean.

"Okay what was that for?" Jack asked splashing Karen. Karen stood shocked and looked at Jack in both happiness and panic.

"What is it?" Jack asked worriedly grabbing Karen's hand. Karen took a few deep breaths, the cool air stung her lungs.

"Kai just proposed to Popuri. She just said yes, they're engaged... and Popuri's going to leave!" Karen said in panic her eyes wide. Jack wrapped his arms around Karen and helped her up to the beach. Popuri and Ann ran over to Karen and looked excited.

"Kai just proposed to me! Oh Karen isn't it great! Now I get to move to Kai's village!" Popuri squealed happily. Karen faked a smile and nodded in fake happiness.

"Yeah, it's... great." She said. Jack gripped her hand and Popuri ran off to tell everyone. Karen felt a mixture of emotions wash over her like the waves of the ocean. The blue feather Popuri was holding in her hands seemed to taunt her.

"Karen, Popuri's happy, that's all that matters." Jack said warningly as if he had heard her thoughts. Karen nodded slowly, trying to get over her shock. She watched Popuri run over and tell Ann, Ann seemed genuinely happy and gave Popuri a big hug. Karen knew she was just being selfish, but that was her all over.

"I'm gonna head home, I don't feel well." Karen murmured sounding hurt. Jack stroked her back and kissed her good night. She walked home slowly, feeling the warm air brush against her skin. She walked past the church and saw Carter outside as usual. He gave her a cheery wave, and a small wink.

"Hello Karen what's wrong?" He asked. His eyes shone with knowledge, he always seemed to know when Karen had a lot on her mind.

"Me, I'm what's wrong Carter." Karen said mournfully. Carter didn't deny it, he just frowned and beckoned for Karen to follow him. She followed him into the beautiful mineral town church. The musty church smell greeted her and the angels on the stained-glass windows seemed to smile reassuringly at her. The church seemed almost sinister at night however, as the images on the windows seemed darker and less comforting. Carter sat down on one of the wooden benches and patted the seat beside him.

"What don't you like about yourself?" Carter asked surveying Karen carefully as though sizing up what he thought was wrong with her himself.

"Well, a lot of things I guess. I just seem to mess everything up." She said. Carter nodded and looked at the alter at the front, the sapphire eyes of the goddess statue seemed to watch them intently.

"Many feel that something is wrong with them and whatever they have is not enough. Karen you may have messed some things up, but haven't you learnt from your mistakes? In life you may get some cuts and scrapes, but they're just a part of life. With the wounds you also get those happy moments where nothing seems wrong with the world." Carter said. He sounded distant as though he was talking to himself rather than Karen.

"What about you, you never mess up. You never make mistakes." Karen pointed out, envying Carter immensely. Her green eyes matched the jealousy she felt. Carter chuckled and then looked at Karen gravely.

"You believe so, do you? Well Karen I made the biggest mistake in the world once which caused me much pain, but I've learned from it and put it behind me..." Carter said, he flinched at the memory. Karen looked at Carter in curiosity, her eyes begged for more details.

"What mistake did you make?" Karen asked. Carter looked at the floor and was silent.

"I'll tell you when you have suffered a pain as great as mine. I promise I'll tell you one day." Carter said mysteriously.

"Does that mean... I'll definitely suffer a pain as great as yours?" Karen asked, panic in her voice. Carter sighed and looked at Karen seriously.

"Maybe, we never know what the goddess has in store for us. But I am certain you can face it." He said wisely, smiling kindly at her. Karen could tell that he had told all that she needed to hear. She stood up and walked out of the church, after giving Carter an amiable smile.

By the next day the whole village was in a buzz over Popuri's engagement. Popuri was jumpy and excited and seemed to be fine with the idea of leaving her friends. Karen had invited Ann for a walk up the mountain to discuss Popuri's engagement. It was a beautiful and warm summer's morning, the birds were singing cheerfully and Ann was skipping up Mother's hill. Karen felt like she had a black cloud hovering above her head, stopping her from enjoying the glorious sun.

"Ann, aren't you upset that Popuri's moving away?" Karen demanded as Ann whistled happily. Ann stopped abruptly and looked at Karen, her blue eyes shone with concern.

"Sure, I'm sad. But Popuri will be happy and that's all that counts." Ann said calmly. Karen frowned and walked quickly to the summit of Mother's hill.

"Well, what if she never comes back. We'll barely ever see her Ann, don't you care?" Karen asked hysterically. Ann nodded slowly and frowned in confusion.

"Karen, I know we won't see her as much, but as long as she's happy that's all that matters. Besides she's coming back here for the wedding and they may even stay after that." Ann said. Karen nodded and sat down, leaning against a cool rock.

"I guess you're right... We'll see her again." Karen said sadly. Ann nodded and turned to run down the mountain. Karen followed hastily and dashed madly to the bottom of the mountain. Breathless they headed to the inn. Popuri greeted them merrily as they walked in with a huge grin on her face.

"Guess what guys?" Popuri exclaimed happily. Karen pretended to think for a moment and looked thoughtful.

"Erm... you're engaged." She said in mock wonder. Popuri nodded and then shook her head, her pink hair flying madly.

"Yes but that's not it. I'm not leaving, Kai's going home to sort some things out and then he'll be back by the end of fall. We're gonna live here and build a house on the beach! Isn't it wonderful?" Popuri exclaimed happily. Karen nodded wide eyed at Popuri and squealed with happiness.

"Yes, that's perfect. Oh I'm so happy. I can't wait till the wedding Poe!" Karen said happily. Popuri grinned and danced off to see Kai. Karen breathed a sigh of relief and headed to the Goddess pond. She sat on the soft green grass and looked into the deep water's of the pond. It had only just hit her that soon Popuri would no longer be Miss Popuri Iris, she would soon be Mrs Popuri Jones. It seemed so long ago that they had been children playing dress-up weddings in the church. Now two of Mineral town's girls had been engaged, Elli was now married. Karen looked at the waterfall on the pond and remembered when she used to think she could meet the harvest goddess. She had often given offerings of pretty flowers and crowns she had made out of flowers. She used to believe that, if she waited long enough, the goddess would come to her. She leaned over and plucked a pink flower from the ground. She stroked the petals gently and sniffed it delicately. She placed the flower on the water and watched it float on the top, before sinking slowly to the bottom. She paused and looked slowly into the waters, no goddess as usual. She sighed and stood up, the goddess appearing was a silly childhood dream. Still she thought, a wish from the goddess would be a wonderful thing.

The end of summer came quickly, as the leaves turned golden brown and began to fall from the trees. The autumn air had a slight chill to it and made people more irritable. The seasons, in Karen's opinion, caused more than just a change in the weather, they caused a complete change in people too. It was as though people changed with the weather, in spring they were fresh and joyous, in summer they are exciting and warm-hearted and in Autumn they had a slight chill to them. When winter came they were cold, depressed and sleepy. Everyone seemed less than happy, too busy to chat and too sad to put their hearts into their work. Karen was bored, everyone was too busy to talk and Mineral town became dull and frozen. The gossip mills were dry and the weather was wet. Karen was spending much of her days working and her evenings at the beach or the goddess point looking into the waters.

Her birthday arrived and she was keen to celebrate it. They opened a bottle of the goddess wine they had made the previous fall and offered a taste test to everyone in the village. The liquid was a strange pink-red colour and smelt fruity and yet sour. Karen sat at a table in the inn with a crown made of silky blue flowers, placed upon her shining hair. Ann poured a generous measure for everyone into their glasses and gestured for a toast. Glasses raised the townsfolk took a deep breath ready for a roaring cheer.

"To Karen!" They announced. Karen blushed pink and grinned happily. They all took their glasses and took a swig of their wine. Popuri pouted and screwed up her face in disgust.

"Ewww, its sour and... not sweet." Popuri whined and put her glass down moodily.

"You're right Poe, its nasty." Ann said and poured their wine down the sink. Most of the townsfolk agreed and hastened to pour the terrible wine down the sink. Karen shrugged and poured herself some more wine.

"I dunno, I kinda like it." Karen said and took a gulp. The townsfolk laughed and went to fetch more bottles to pour down the sink. The evening in Karen's opinion had been a complete success and one of the best birthdays ever and finally she was eighteen. But being eighteen and unmarried in mineral town could be rather frowned upon, and she was one of the last left. She didn't let this fact bother her too much but she knew it was time to start hinting marriage to Jack. She drained her glass of wine and hiccupped, Doug began to clear things away and Popuri yawned.

"Well I don't know about you guys but I'm beat." Popuri said yawning again and showing a beautiful set of creamy white teeth. Ann nodded in agreement and began to absent-mindedly wash up the glasses.

"Alright, everyone go home. Goodnight." Doug said ushering people out of the inn. Karen reluctantly scooped up her gifts and hobbled outside into the cool night. She struggled carrying the gifts and began to tip backwards, she then felt strong arms wrap around her as Jack caught her.

"Let me walk you home." He said kindly and took a few gifts out of Karen's hands. Karen blushed sweetly and nodded.

"How did you find the party then?" Jack asked somewhat awkwardly. Karen smiled fondly reminiscing.

"It was wonderful... the best birthday ever I'd say." She said dreamily while Jack smiled warmly. They arrived outside the small shop and Jack leaned down and planted a soft kiss on Karen's lips. She closed her eyes and felt her skin tingle, she was glad she still got butterflies whenever he kissed her. She hoped that they would be together forever, she wanted nothing else.

"Goodnight." She whispered softly.

"Goodnight." Jack replied warmly and placed her gifts gently in her arms. He then disappeared into the night.

Karen stepped out into the light and watched as a golden leaf fell from a tree and drifted gently to the ground. She rushed through the town to the mountain and felt the wind rush past her stinging her cheeks and turning them rose red. She reached the mountain and stopped breathing quickly. The cool air stung her lungs as she breathed in deeply. She recovered and headed slowly up the mountain. She trudged through the blanket of golden-brown leaves sending them flying into the air like a flock of golden butterflies. She then arrived triumphantly at the top of the mountain and gazed proudly at her surroundings. She spotted Gotz, the woodcutter gazing meditatively out over the mountain. Karen gave him a cheerful wave but he didn't seem to notice her, he just stared gravely over the mountain.

"Gotz?" Karen said slowly. Gotz blinked and noticed Karen, he looked worried and seemed speechless.

"Karen... I..." He said worriedly, panic flashed across his face and Karen looked at Gotz with curiosity.

"What is it?" She asked, fear in her voice. Gotz pointed over the mountain and Karen looked over. She saw dark storm clouds rushing towards them with swirls of wind dancing beneath them, engulfing the trees. The clouds seem to ride towards them like mad black horses, trampling all that got in their way.

"Gotz, what is that?" Karen asked panicking. Gotz turned to her and looked at her solemnly.

"I'm not sure, but whatever it is, it's dangerous." He said seriously.


	7. The storm and rebuilding of mineral town

Hey guys, thanks a whole bunch for the reviews! big smile. Anyhoo, this chapter is pretty much pointless destruction but it does bring up some Jack/Karen stuff, god i love those guys. So anyway, enjoy!

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7. Storm of Judgement and the rebuilding of mineral town

Karen gasped and watched as the storm clouds thundered towards them rapidly, destroying everything in its path, flinging away trees like they were matchsticks. Karen's mind had stopped, all she knew was that something was coming and it was dangerous.

"Gotz... what is that thing?" She shouted over the sounds of destruction.

"I don't know, but it's heading right for us. This thing will destroy mineral town." He shouted in terror. Karen gaped wide eyed at him, her beloved mineral town, destroyed. An empty feeling clenched her stomach tightly, she felt just like she had when she thought Jack would break up with her.

"We have to warn everyone! Come on!" Karen yelled, thinking as fast as she could although her mind was numb. Gotz nodded and they ran down the mountain quickly. Karen had never run so fast in her life, she thundered down the streets and to the Mayor's house. He was looking seriously out of the window, looking like a statue.

"Mayor, something's coming. It's going to engulf the whole town!" Karen yelled. The mayor seemed not to acknowledge her presence but eventually he nodded.

"I know." He said slowly, he turned around. Karen saw that his usually cheerful brown eyes seemed hollow. Karen stared at him, her emerald green eyes demanding him to expand.

"But we can't stop it Karen. Why cause panic in the town, we can't stop it." He said depressively. Karen mouth dropped open, she couldn't believe what she was hearing, and she knew she had to warn the villagers.

"Mayor, we may not be able to spare the buildings but we can spare our friends and family. We have to get everyone to the basement of the inn. Go into town and tell as many people as possible. Get them to pass the news on and then go to the basement okay?" Karen said with authority. Determination flashed through her eyes and her mouth formed into a determined frown. She didn't know any of what she had said was true or if anyone would live, but she did know that she didn't want to die. The mayor nodded and waddled out quickly to tell the townspeople. Karen rushed past the buildings catching everyone she met and telling them the news. Suddenly she was stopped by a frantic Elli, her pretty face stained with tears.

"Karen my grandmother, what will she do?" Elli asked panicking.

"Get Zack to carry her okay?" Karen said quickly, Elli nodded and ran to get Zack. She then hurried to the basement where the townspeople were. The mayor was hastily counting all the people looking nervous, his red hat seemed to droop with his spirits.

"Everyone's here... except for May and Jack." The Mayor said worriedly. The town gasped and Karen's emerald eyes widened. She turned and ran out of the dark basement to Yodel farm, May wasn't there. She began to panic more and ran through the town shouting May's name. She suddenly spotted a flash of red and found May hiding behind a gravestone at the church.

"May, where have you been?" Karen asked in relief. May looked up, her dark brown eyes shimmered with tears. Karen gently scooped her up into her arms and headed towards the inn. The storm was getting closer and a swarm of leaves descended upon the town. Karen dashed into the inn and Barley hugged May looking relieved.

"Jack's still missing." The mayor said. His words hit Karen like a rock, she once again ran towards the exit of the inn. He mother blocked her path her sapphire eyes shining.

"Karen, no. It's not worth it." Sasha said, her voice sounded thin and Karen noted the concern.

"I'm so sorry mom, but it is to me. Goodbye mom." Karen said softly, determination laced her voice. Shining tears began to drop from her mother's eyes as Karen kissed her gently on the cheek and headed out of the door. The winds were so strong that Karen had trouble walking, she dodged flying plants and chickens and headed to Jack's farm. The sky had darkened, it was now a sea of endless grey trying to consume her. She passed the poultry farm and watched as the door blew in and Popuri's house collapsed. She sped up as she reached Jack's farm and hurried to the door. She knocked hard on the door, thanking the goddess that the house was still standing. Jack answered the door with a worried expression on his handsome face. He hastily pulled Karen inside and hugged her tightly.

"Jack, we've got to get to the inn basement." She said. Jack shook his head quickly but Karen ignored him.

"No Karen, it's too dangerous, we'd never make it. We should stay here." He told her. Karen shook her head and refused to back down. Jack's chocolate eyes shone with concern and finally he agreed. They headed out the door and along the broken street. Bricks had been plucked from the ground and had been thrown through windows. Karen grimaced over the destruction, their homes were destroyed. Suddenly a huge tree flew towards them, Jack hurriedly ducked and pulled Karen down with him. The tree narrowly missed and blocked their path.

"Karen we can't go this way." Jack said and Karen nodded, they headed back to Jack's farm and found his house destroyed. Karen looked at him with pitying eyes and found his to be full of fear, she gulped. They were in trouble. She looked at him in question but he gave no answer, they were stranded.

"Let's head to Gotz's hut, maybe we can shelter there." Karen offered. Jack seemed hesitant but they had no other options and time till the storm was right on top of the village, time was running out. They ran to the end of Jack's farm and he looked hopelessly at where his animals were, praying they were okay. They found Gotz's house to be destroyed too, shards of wood and glass lay everywhere. Karen looked hopelessly at Jack, but suddenly had one last idea. She gripped his arm tightly and led him to the Goddess pond, it stood as it always had, babbling gently over the storm. Karen stood hopelessly in front of the pond and prayed to the goddess and suddenly an idea struck her.

"Let's try to follow the other path to the inn, we have no other choice." She said looking at Jack with determination. He nodded obediently and they hurried past Gotz's house and through the destroyed mineral square, dodging flying trees and rocks. Suddenly a small tree flew towards them at great speed, Karen spotted it and pushed Jack down to duck as she felt the wood collide with her chest. She fell to the ground unconscious, the wind knocked out of her.

When she came to she was lying on the cold, hard floor of the church cellar with Jack bending over her. She blinked and tried to breathe, she felt her chest ache painfully and groaned.

"What... what happened?" She moaned and heard Jack heave a sigh of relief. She looked up and saw him smile weakly. She saw that the room was dimly lit with a few candles and the thin light made Jack's face look ghostly and pale.

"You saved me from a flying tree and got hit in the process. It's a miracle it didn't hit your head...otherwise..." He said weakly, Karen nodded gravely and tried to sit up.

"Ouch." She yelled as she felt the pain in her chest worsen. Jack looked worried and helped her lie down again.

"I'm no doctor but I think you may have broken some ribs, your chest is definitely bruised anyway." He said and Karen moaned again.

"We can't get you the doctor until the storm stops... can you hang in there until then?" He asked worriedly and Karen nodded.

The hours seemed long as Karen drifted in and out of consciousness, while Jack stood over her. She felt dreamy, as though none of it was real, she could no longer feel the pain.

"Jack?" She asked softly, and he looked at her intently. "Can you see us... here... getting married?" Jack was a little taken aback by the question, but he knew she wasn't exactly well. He thought for a moment and looked deeply into her endless emerald eyes.

"Yes... I can." He said softly, reaching down to stroke her silky hair gently. Karen sighed contentedly and reached for his hand, she found it and held it gently.

"Do I look good in my wedding dress?" She asked dreamily, Jack gripped her hand and felt it turn cold, it felt porcelain like a pretty dolls hand.

"You look... beautiful, the most beautiful bride in the world." He said gently and Karen laughed softly, her chest hurting as she did so.

"What about... after?" She asked and Jack thought deeply. He lay down next to her and gently put his arms around her.

"I see us living together at my farm. I come in from work and you ask me how my day was... then we tuck in the kids. Two children, a boy and a girl, the two most beautiful children ever... like their mother. We are the happiest couple in all of mineral town, because... we have each other." He said dreamily starting to join Karen in her fantasy world. Karen nodded contentedly and slipped out of consciousness once again. Overhead the storm was raging, destroying mineral town.

Finally the storm was over and Jack woke Karen to tell her. He helped her up and took her to what used to be the hospital. All that remained were piles of bricks and wood and the hospital sign. The other inhabitants of mineral town emerged from the inn, tears filled their eyes as they saw their homes destroyed. The mayor looked hopelessly at the town, his red top hat seemed to droop with his eyes.

"We can't afford to pay for this, we can't rebuild mineral town." The mayor said sorrowfully. The town gasped, but they had expected as much. Gotz cleared his throat and looked around the town.

"What if... what if we all helped to rebuild it. We could use all the trees that have been destroyed." He said. The townsfolk looked melancholy but there seemed no other choice, they had to rebuild mineral town somehow. So the very next day they all set to work, everyone helping. Karen was part of the refreshment crew once her chest was better, she delivered everyone drinks while Ann made them. While they had nowhere to live all the people of mineral town were living in temporary shelters made of bamboo. The town had spent all of its money on buying materials for the rebuilding so they could not afford any help.

Karen was delivering tea to people rebuilding the church when she spotted Ellen sitting outside watching.

"Miss Ellen, you shouldn't be out here... it's bad for your health." She said worriedly. Ellen looked at her, her wrinkled face crinkled as she smiled.

"Oh hello dear! I'm fine, I was just remembering when mineral town was first built." She said, a faraway expression formed upon her face as she remembered.

"You were alive when mineral town was first built?" Karen asked, she tried not to sound too surprised.

"Why yes dear. If you like I'll tell you the story..." She said kindly.

"I really should deliver more tea, but I guess it can wait." Karen said making herself comfortable on a ruined flowerbed.

"Well if you're gonna listen we will too!" Popuri said appearing out of nowhere. Ann appeared behind her and they both sat down comfortably on the ground.

"Very well children, I'll tell you the story of how mineral town began..." Ellen cleared her throat and began.

_Before Mineral Town was as you know it now... or at least before it was destroyed... it was a rather small village. Few people lived here and mainly they were people who had visited the island by chance and fallen in love with it. My father had a rare condition that meant that any factory fumes that he breathed in could possibly kill him, so we travelled to this small island. When I first arrived I didn't like it, it was remote and everyone lived in tiny wooden huts. As time went on more and more people moved to the island and built up their businesses there and with the businesses came more people. Soon Elli's grandfather arrived and we were married in the church after it was built. The village was still pretty unorganised though, just a forest with random houses everywhere. The villagers decided to vote for someone to organise the town, a mayor. So we voted and our current mayor's father won. Before long we had streets and houses and shops, all thanks to the mayor and all built by our own hands._

Ellen finished and looked down her spectacles at Karen, surveying her with shining grey eyes. Karen could see the young Ellen through those eyes, inside she was still filled with youthful energy.

"So you see we can build this city again, even if it takes a long while." Ellen said sleepily. Telling the short story had worn her out, so she closed her wrinkled eyelids and snuggled into her chair. Karen stood up and quietly tiptoed around handing out hot drinks. Her green eyes searched the ruined city for Jack and shone when she found him laying some bricks on the foundations of her house. She pranced over to him, spilling some tea on the way and wiping it quickly off her hands.

"Hey Jack." She said gently. Jack smiled weakly and put down the brick he was about to lay to give her a hug. He was still rather depressed since a few of his chickens had died in the storm. They had been glad to find that his horse, dog and cow were still alive, however not all his animals had been so lucky. They had had a small ceremony for the burial of his chickens, they said a few words and buried them outside the church. Jack had been melancholy since, he felt that he had let down his Grandfather by letting a few chickens die. Karen had assured him this wasn't true, but he felt it eating away at him nonetheless. Karen placed the tea on the ground near him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"See you tonight." She murmured and headed towards the inn. She saw Ellen snoozing and went to take her inside.

"Ellen, I think it's time for you to come inside." She whispered gently. Ellen didn't stir, she was sleeping like a beautiful angel, old but still young inside.

"Ellen, wake up." Karen said softly again. She chuckled at the old ladies persistence to sleep and wondered if she was perhaps pretending. She tapped Ellen gently on the shoulder but still Ellen refused to budge. Karen shook Ellen gently, but she still didn't budge. Karen felt her heart shudder, Ellen was not breathing. She put her hand gently on Ellen's, it was cold and she could feel no pulse. She shook Ellen firmly, making sure that the old lady was not just sleeping deeply.

"Ellen, Ellen please wake up!" Karen said, close to tears. She looked around desperately for the doctor amongst the ruins.

"Somebody help! Doctor, help!" Karen shrieked, causing all the workers to turn around and look. Jack hurried over, his face pale with a strange knowing look upon it. The Doctor hurried over and looked worriedly at Ellen, Elli went too looking panic stricken. The Doctor checked her over quickly for signs of life, but shook his head gently. Elli turned and buried her face in the doctors coat, crying silent tears and the doctor sighed. Jack put his arm protectively around Karen, expecting the same tears, but instead Karen just stared at the spot were Ellen lay. Karen felt him push gently against her back, urging her to turn away, so she submitted and followed him away.

The next day was the funeral. It was bleak, dark and miserable and that was not just the weather. The whole village assembled in the newly built church and one by one paid their respects to the little old lady next door. Karen watched as people who barely ever took time out of their busy schedule to see this woman when she was alive cried miserably. They all wailed about how much they would miss her, but Karen knew the truth, few people would even notice in a few days. The kind few that had visited her often seemed distraught, especially Elli. Ellen had replaced a mother and a father in Elli's life and had been most of her family. Karen just watched the people around her cry, but she could not shed a tear. She wondered if she looked heartless as they lowered her into the casket and said some words about her. Elli wailed about how important she was to mineral town life and how an empty hole would be left where she had been. But life would go on, as usual and the tears would cease to flow. Everyone offered their condolences to Elli, saying pretty much the same things "she was a kind old lady, we'll all miss her" and "she was a great woman". There was little variation as people didn't really know what to say. Karen walked slowly over to Elli, keeping a morbid pace.

"I'm sorry for your loss Elli. I'll miss her." Karen offered glumly. Elli looked up, tears glistened in her eyes. Karen could see her tiny fists clench, she'd heard the same thing one too many times.

"Oh yeah, what will you miss then?" She demanded. Karen looked slightly taken aback and searched to the back of her cobwebbed mind for memories of Ellen.

"I'll miss how she knitted my first stocking for the stocking festival, with my name on and everything. I'll miss how on the pumpkin festival she would give me an extra bar of chocolate. I'll miss how when my parents went out she would baby-sit and read whatever story I wanted..." Karen said, tears began to trickle down her face as she searched for everything she would miss. The memories became painful, and the words became lodged in her throat as she began to force them out. Elli nodded, finding the same memories within her own mind and smiling at them.

"I'll miss how whenever I felt sad I could talk to her and she'd pull me onto her lap and listen for hours. I miss how when she bought or was given an apple pie she would always give me a slice...even though... apple pie was her favourite..." Karen said, the tears spilling out faster. Karen began to realise her voice had become louder and soon became aware that the whole congregation was nodding along with her.

"I miss how she would tell me stories and fables. I miss how she would play games with me no matter what... I miss that she was the only one who was... always there for me..." Karen wailed. Elli nodded tearfully and everyone cried too, realising how big a part of their life Ellen had been.

"I think... it's time for the will." The mayor said tearfully. He pulled out the will and began to tell people what they had been left. They were mainly small things, like things she had knitted or trinkets she had kept. But for the five girls of the village, who Ellen had always considered mineral town's future, were special gifts.

"For my dearest Granddaughter Elli, I leave my diamond ring. It was my great grandmother's, so treasure it always my dear. You shine just like the diamond and I thank you kindly for your hard work to heal my legs. One day you will be the best nurse ever to have been and you will learn to cure my illness. To my sweet little Popuri, I leave my pressing of the rarest flower in mineral town. The rare white one that only appears once every few winters, treasure it. But remember, you are the rarest flower of all." The mayor read. Elli and Popuri were crying silently as they went up to receive their gifts from a box marked "will".

"To my kind little Ann, I leave my secret recipe for Ellen's famous apple pie. I know you've been wanting it! Keep it secret, but I hope you can begin to make it in the inn! To my bright little Mary I leave my gold pen. Use it to write those novels I know will one day become world famous, and remember, no one can write better than you." Ann and Mary were now crying hard too, cradling their gifts.

"Last but not least, to my dear spirited Karen. You have always been the hardest one to figure out, but the one thing that was always constant in you was your beautiful green eyes. I have never seen such beautiful eyes, the colour of emeralds. So I leave to you my emerald necklace that always reminded me of you, I can think of no one else it would better suit. Keep on being spirited Karen, don't ever change." The mayor finished. Karen walked shakily up to receive her gift, it was the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. It was a gold chain with a beautiful emerald heart surrounded by tiny diamonds.

"I can't accept this." Karen said, her voice croaky from crying. The mayor smiled and shook his head.

"Ellen gave it to you for a reason, don't let her down." The mayor said, he smiled and his eyes crinkled. Karen gazed at it and nodded, heading back to her seat next to Jack. She snuggled up closely to him and held the emerald heart gently in her hand. Although Ellen was gone, she could still almost feel her there, watching over and protecting them.

Weeks followed Ellen's death and soon things were pretty much back to normal. As Karen's mother had told her far too many times, life goes on. Things change, wounds heal and life continues once again, different but still there. Karen stepped out into the brilliant sunlight of the first day of spring. She blinked a few times and covered her eyes over with her hand to block the light. She breathed in the fresh spring air, delicate and fragrant, like a fresh rose. The mild air swept past her face, brushing her skin softly and sending prickles down her spine. Winter had seemed like an eternity, it had taken all of winter to fix most of the town's damage. It was still a mere skeleton of what it had been, it was bare with most of the houses missing. But finally it was showing progress. Jack's farm was fully built once again and was thriving, he had spent all winter rebuilding. Karen was glad to see that at least one thing was back to normal and fresh vegetables would once again be produced in town. Karen watched as slowly the town's folk appeared from their shelters, blinking in the sunlight. They had never been so glad to see spring, it seemed to take longer coming that year. Little had happened after Ellen's death, mainly mournful rebuilding of the town. Normally town would prepare for the New Year's festival, but both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day seemed to have passed without celebration. The town's people set to work rebuilding the town once again, with only a few more houses to build. It was to be the same as before, with a few subtle changes. Most people had asked for rooms to be bigger and furnishing to be different, but Karen wanted everything the same. She wanted to forget the storm had ever happened and just get on with life. She spotted Carter standing outside the newly rebuilt church and admiring its beauty. He looked so serene, completely at peace gazing upon the new church. She walked slowly towards him and he turned towards her. He smiled at Karen and straightened his long, silky black robes.

"Good morning Karen." Carter said joyfully and Karen replied with a cheerful "Morning". The new church was beautiful, although parts of the old church remained as most of it had survived. Its stone walls were now white, the colour of dove's feathers. The windows were stained glass depicting the goddess and some depicting bible scenes.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Carter breathed, reading Karen's mind. The one part of the town that looked beautiful again.

"Yes, it is." Karen said gazing at its beauty. Carter turned to her and grinned, she smiled back. She waved goodbye to Carter quickly and headed to Jack's farm, the highlight of her day was always seeing him.

She walked in through the farm gate and bend down as Happy ran towards her. He barked happily and wagged his tiny brown tail excitedly, his pink tongue hung out ready to lick her.

"Hey boy!" She crooned as she patted him gently on the head. Hearing Happy's playfully barks Jack walked out of his door towards Karen with a grin on his face.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're just here to see the dog." He joked, bending down to scratch Happy's head. Karen grinned then hurriedly made a mock innocent face.

"I am." She said with perfectly executed innocence. Jack laughed and kissed her lightly on the lips. He gazed around his wonderful rebuilt farm, fields of grass stretched over most of the farm and row upon row of fat vegetables stood in all their glory. Soon the summer would come and it was hoped by all the town members that the town would be rebuilt by then. Until then the farm and the church were the only signs that the town had once been normal. Karen waved goodbye to Jack and headed to the inn, she had work to do. She had been making drinks for the workers since the rebuilding had started. One good thing had come out of her job, she had finally learned how to be a half-decent cook. She headed towards the newly rebuilt inn and stroked the new brick work. The bricks were hot thanks to the warm spring sun and they looked a beautiful rosy red. Karen pushed open the new, glossy, brown oak door and hurried over to the counter. She pulled a clean white apron over her clothes and put some water on to boil. Ann walked down the stairs looking bleary eyed and exhausted.

"Do you mind, some of us our trying to sleep." She whined and Karen smirked.

"At 10 o'clock in the morning?" Karen asked checking her pretty silver watch her mother had brought her. Ann's eyes widened comically as she rushed up to get changed. Karen chuckled and fetched some tea bags and some coffee beans and put them in separate pots. She made a large jug of tea and coffee and poured a few cups of each, ready to be delivered. Ann hurried down the stairs looking tired and unkempt, her hair was falling out of her usually neat red plait and her blue eyes seemed dull.

"Bad night?" Karen asked sounding uninterested. Ann yawned and fetched some bread, tomatoes and cheese out of the fridge.

"Well I've been better..." Ann said slicing the bread finely and spreading them with a thick layer of butter. Karen chopped the tomatoes and sliced the cheese looking at Ann suspiciously.

"What happened?" She asked, her green eyes reflecting concern. Ann did not look well to say the least, she looked bedraggled and tired. Ann looked at Karen for a second then went back to massacring bread.

"I'm fine, it's just... Dad's been up all night crying about Mom. Yesterday would have been their anniversary. I think, with everything that's happened, he just feels alone." Ann said, her sea blue eyes dull with worry. Karen put her arms around Ann and gave her a big hug.

"Why don't you take the day off, I can handle things." Karen said kindly as she released Ann. She watched as Ann's eyes widened in fear of her cooking. Karen pretended she hadn't seen it and went back to making sandwiches. "_Let's see her get out of this" _she thought. Ann began to mumble something incoherent while Karen looked as innocent as possible.

"Well... um... you see Karen... it's like this... erm. Look you're not exactly um... see I'd rather... oh fine go ahead." Ann said giving up. Karen smiled and hastily ushered Ann back up to bed. She quickly sorted out the sandwiches and tea and headed out to make deliveries to the workers. She first made rounds handing out people their tea, knowing that job would take her until lunch when she would give them the sandwiches. She only stopped for a brief chat with each of the town members before heading out to help sort out the inn.

After a hard days work she finally crawled in the inn to take off her apron. She slumped on a stool and massaged her aching limbs.

"Ann!" She moaned up the stairs and was quickly greeted by a happier looking Ann.

"I feel so much better after sleeping, thanks. Are you okay to do tonight's shift by the way, I know that's mainly mine and Popuri's job but she cancelled. She needs to look after her Mom she's sick and I'm looking after dad!" She said. Karen groaned and swept back her shining hair.

"Ann I just did both our shifts today, I can barely stand!" Karen groaned and leaned back in her chair, almost falling off it. Ann made her how-could-you-resist-this-face face and Karen sighed reluctantly. Ann smiled and gave Karen a quick hug before running upstairs.

Karen had never realised how interesting it was to serve behind the bar. Not only was there all you can drink alcohol, but also people talked to her more. People opened up a door that they usually kept shut and locked when they had alcohol in their system. Karen realised exactly why Doug was so popular, he gave people great advice. She had already talked to most of the town about small uninteresting things like, "do you like my hair" and "what colour should I paint my newly built house". Granted most of the questions were from Manna but they were the most uninteresting. Karen was rather shocked to see Gray at the bar, he usually just went straight up to bed. His adorable big, blue eyes were shining in worry and his usual blue and cream cap was pulled down unusually low.

"Karen, hey. Can I ask your advice?" He asked timidly. Karen smiled warmly and nodded while she cleaned out a mug. Gray looked around cautiously and then seeing that no one was watching relaxed.

"Well it's about Mary, you see... I want to ask her to be my girlfriend... but... I'm not sure she really likes me in that way." He said. Karen looked at him, he looked so innocent and adorable. She really just wanted to take him in her arms and tell him everything would be alright, but that's how sweet he was.

"How could she not? Gray trust me, go for it okay? I'm sure she'll want to be your girlfriend!" Karen said. She gave him her most reassuring smile and watched as he gave a tiny smile back.

"Thank you Karen, you've been great." Gray said shyly and he walked quickly upstairs to his room. When the evening was finally over and Karen had locked up the inn, she collapsed on her bed at home. She fell into a deep and calm sleep, dreaming of Jack.

It took until the end of spring for the village to be back to normal. Every single building back and better than ever. A party had been planned in the newly built rose square so they could celebrate. It was the first festival they had had since the dreadful storm and everyone was anticipating it. Karen had managed to get herself onto the decorations committee, the cooking committee wouldn't even let her make punch even after her months of working at the inn. She had decorated the square in beautiful twinkling fairy lights, and every inch of the square shone. She had made paper chains out of gold paper and strung them up everywhere and she had even decorated the beach for people who wanted to chill there. Popuri, who was also on the committee, had covered the entire floor with fresh summer flowers. The square looked like a fairy palace and that was exactly what they were going for. After decorating the square Karen hurried home to slip into her dress. It was a lilac dress that in her opinion made her look like the marshmallow princess, but that was nothing compared to Popuri's. It was bright bubblegum pink made of silk with hundreds of ribbons and tassels sowed everywhere. She looked like the queen of cotton candy shimmering in pink. Karen's was simply a sleek dress made of lilac silk, but her mother had refused to make her anything that wouldn't make her look like a princess of something sickly sweet. She had made her hair into curly ringlets and put shimmering pink lipstick on her lips and light pink eye shadow on her eyes. In her opinion she looked perfect and even more like a marshmallow. Popuri had somehow managed to look even more bubblegum-like but beautiful nonetheless. She had curled her shining pink hair and put on bubblegum pink lipstick and eye shadow. Ann looked amazing in her shining yellow dress, it had a single bow at the back and a long trailing bottom. Ann had straightened her carrot coloured hair and put the slightest bit of gold eye shadow on showing off her sapphire eyes. She smiled warmly looking like the sun and Karen watched happily as Cliff gaped at Ann. Mary and Elli both looked great, Elli wearing a huge light blue dress covered in bows and Mary wearing a simply navy blue dress.

"We all look so beautiful!" Elli exclaimed giving the doctor a twirl. Karen noticed that Elli's belly looked rounder than usual and gasped.

"Elli? Are you...?" Karen asked slowly, Elli gave her a tell-and-I'll-kill-you look and Karen shut up. But Elli nodded and looked both happy and nervous so Karen gave her a reassuring smile. Elli winked and twirled into the square awaiting the doctor to sweep her off her feet.

"My, my, don't you look nice." Rick said and Karen turned around to meet his both hungry and loathing gaze. Karen forced a courteous smile and stepped slowly away. Rick put his hand on her shoulder and held it in a vice-like grip. Karen shuddered and met his gaze once again.

"Won't you dance with me... until _he _gets here?" Rick said, sounding both forceful and polite at the same time. Karen looked around helplessly, no one could see.

"I only have to scream, Rick." She snarled and glared at him, her green eyes dangerous. Rick released his grip slightly but didn't let go.

"And cause a scene? I'm not sure you want to do that. Just one dance?" He said threateningly. Karen nodded quietly and flinched as he pulled her into his arms. They stepped in rhythm to the music and Rick kept his hand firmly on Karen's hip.

"You know I'm still in love with you. Not that you care, you selfish cow, how much you hurt me." He said coolly. Karen bit her lip and looked around for Jack. "_Where is he?" _she thought desperately. Rick's blue eyes shone menacingly as he held onto Karen tighter.

"Why are you doing this?" Karen whispered helplessly. Rick stared at her and put his face close to her ear.

"Because my dear Karen, I'm sure I'll get you back one day." He whispered into her ear. Karen shuddered and quickly escaped his grip, glaring furiously. Rick chuckled and sauntered off humming. Right on cue Jack arrived carrying a beautiful bouquet of flowers, he gave Karen a gently kiss on the cheek and handed her the flowers.

"For you!" He said proudly, like a child who had made something special and was finally presenting it. Karen smiled and shook off her fury, she knew that as long as Jack was with her, Rick couldn't get to her.

"Thank you darling!" Karen said in a posh voice and Jack laughed. His laughter soothed her and she felt warm as he brought her close to him.

"Shall we?" He asked politely. Karen put her hand in his and nodded quickly, smiling her biggest smile. They then began a gently dance and Karen felt like she was floating. She watched the other couples around her and smiled, life was good. The cool evening air drifted over her peachy skin as she twirled and spun. The stars twinkled at her as they always had as they shone, like diamonds shining over her. She felt happy wrapped in her true loves arms and she felt nothing could take him away from her.

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So yeah, Rick can be a complete jerk, in fact throughout this story he pretty much is, trust me you'll see... cos i have a whole 30 chapters of Rick hating fun planned, should be fun to write :D. Please review if you can be bothered. 

thanks for reading ;)


	8. Love's wings

Sorry for not updating in a while, i had mock exams... sighs. Anyway, this is probably the beginning of when this story gets tragic, i'll just warn you now. Okie dokie, let's start then, shall we?

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8. Love's wings

Karen opened her window and breathed in the fresh summer air, she loved the first day of summer. Everyone was happy, everything was happy, the weather was warm and nothing could go wrong. She ambled out of bed and to the inn to wake up Ann and find Popuri. She dived onto Ann's bed and pushed her off and Ann made a small "oomph" as she fell off the bed. Popuri rushed into the room bursting with unlimited happiness.

"Oh my gosh, he's coming back today! Yay Kai. I know he was delayed but he's coming back and then we'll be married, we're marrying on the 4th remember!" Popuri squealed. Ann mumbled something about "no decency" and Karen jumped for joy with Popuri. Ann trudged out of the room to make breakfast for them all. During breakfast Kai arrived through the inn the overloaded with bags and Popuri dived into is arms. After a lot of greeting... they all headed down to the beach for beach day. Karen had decided to sit that swimming contest out on the grounds that she was too lazy. No other women could be bothered to compete which to Karen made the last years efforts seem in vain. Jack won, as usual but in Karen's opinion the sunbathers were the real winners, they came away with a gorgeous tan. The day went by quickly but not without its mishaps, Popuri dropped four ice-cream cones, Happy (the dog) lost his favourite ball and Rick got buried in the sand and left for four hours. But other than that it was a perfect day. Everyone went away sunburnt but happy.

On the 4th of Summer Popuri and Kai were to be married, the happiest day of Popuri's life. It was raining and the dripping on the rooftop could be heard inside the church, but it was beautiful nonetheless. An eerie mist settled upon the peaceful Mineral town, making everyone look like pale ghosts. Popuri looked beautiful in her long, silky, white wedding dress. She had her hair up in two pink buns and beautiful blue flowers braided into her shining pink hair. Her brown eyes shone with happiness and affection for Kai and her pink lips made the biggest smile in the world. Karen had managed to be a bridesmaid along with Ann and they were both dressed in bubblegum pink dresses. They knew how awful they looked but they would wear anything for Popuri on her special day. Kai looked "most fetching" as everyone said in his black suit and cute black bowtie. Karen had to admit that she was surprised that a free young man like Kai would commit himself to marriage, but then again who was she to question true love.

Popuri walked down the isle and giggled at her mother, Lilia had small tears of happiness in her gentle blue eyes but she looked overjoyed for her only daughter. Rick however looked like she had swallowed a lemon that had become lodged in his throat. His face was sour and his beady blue eyes reflected deep loathing. Karen gave him a warning glare, he spotted it and immediately looked away. Kai stood at the isle he looked nervous but just as happy as Popuri and Karen smiled. She hoped that would be her next, walking up to Jack ready to be married. She watched as Popuri reached the alter and gave Kai a cute smile, Carter cleared his throat and the music stopped.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of two young lovers. I can tell you that I can't see a couple more made for each other than these two, let us begin." Carter said. The ceremony was long but Karen sat transfixed watching everything. Finally it came down to the most important part, asking the couple whether they wanted to be stuck with each other for all eternity.

"Do you Popuri Iris take Kai Jones to be your lawful wedded husband?" Carter asked smiling. Popuri giggled happily and looked at Kai with loving eyes.

"I do, I really, really do!" She squealed happily. Carter smiled again and turned to Kai. Kai's face was blank, he was no longer smiling and he looked worried.

"Do you Kai Jones take Popuri Iris to be your lawful wedded wife?" Carter asked. Karen nervously watched as Kai gulped, awaiting the answer.

"I um... I um... I'm sorry I just can't." He said. Popuri's smile faded and she watched as Kai ran out of the church. Tears formed in Popuri's big brown eyes as she stood shakily on the stairs. Karen gaped at the door and then turned and watched as Popuri fell backwards. Ann ran and caught her, supporting her gently in her arms. Karen gulped and hurried over to help.

"Nothing to see here folks, can everyone just wait quietly and help yourselves to food, we'll sort this all out." Karen said. She gave Ann a I-have-no-idea-how look and then helped Popuri up. food, we'll sort this all out." Karen said. She gave Ann a I-have-no-idea-how look and then helped Popuri up. Karen knew she had to stall for a while so she ran over to Elli who was sitting impatiently on her pew, drumming her fingers on the glossy wood.

"Hey Elli, could you stall for a while, make sure the guest don't riot." Karen said quickly while glancing anxiously at Popuri.

"Why should I, it's not _my _wedding, jeez you know I'm tired enough as it is!" Elli snapped angrily and Karen shrank back against the wall.

"Okay jeez..." She replied edging away from the hormonal, pregnant woman. Elli's eyes then filled with tears as she looked around.

"Oh god sorry Karen, I didn't mean to cry... I just... you mean so much to me... I love you." Elli cried. Karen stared at her and quickly backed away, going back to deal with the Popuri situation.

Popuri stood up suddenly and ran outside quickly into the pouring rain, Karen and Ann followed quickly. Popuri was knelt on the ground outside, tiny water droplets mixed with the tears on her face as she cried. It was one of the saddest things Karen had ever seen, her heart was breaking for her best friend. Popuri sat in a dirty puddle on the ground, she looked bedraggled and she was shaking slightly. Her once beautifully done up hair fell in straggled beside her pale face, her eyes were huge in worry and sadness and her once white dress was a muddy brown. She looked like a poor kitten abandoned in the rain, lost and alone.

"Oh Poe." Karen said gently as she knelt down and put her arms around her. Popuri leaned into Karen's arms and cried. Ann knelt down next to them and wrapped her arms around Popuri too and they hugged her as she cried.

"I'm so sorry Poe." Ann said, her big blue eyes showed sorrow and worry.

"He does love me. He does want to marry me, he's just scared." Popuri said weakly, Karen could tell from her voice that she truly believed it, Popuri was the most loyal person she knew. She and Ann exchanged worried glances as they hugged Popuri tighter.

"That dirty rotten... Popuri how can you forgive him?" Ann spat and Popuri looked up at her with puppy-dog eyes.

"Because I believe in him, and I love him." Popuri said, she then smiled weakly. "And when you love someone, nothing else seems to matter." Karen nodded and remembered how Jack had forgiven her, that was true love. Karen stood up with determination and looked into the rain, she felt her saturated dress cling to her thin frame and she shivered.

"I'm going to go and remind him how much he loves you. Don't worry Popuri, I'll get him back. This wedding's not over yet, we'll have a wonderful wet wedding!" Karen told her and Popuri beamed. Karen rushed off through the rain and looked all over town for Kai. The water splashed around her, as she rushed through the clear puddles of icy water. She finally found him at the very top of the mountain looking down over the trees.

"Kai!" Karen shouted through the heavy rain. Kai turned around and looked at her with what seemed to Karen like sympathy.

"Karen, go back. It's not worth you finding me, Popuri deserves better than me!" Kai shouted. Karen walked over to him and stood staring at him for a few moments. She then gave him a hard slap around the face leaving a bright red hand mark. Kai put his hand to his face and looked at Karen.

"I guess I deserved that." He said rubbing his cheek.

"That was for leaving my friend at the alter. Kai, you have to go back." Karen shouted through the rain. Kai looked at her, his deep brown eyes shone with sadness and regret.

"No Karen, I can't do it. Popuri deserves someone better than me. Besides, I can't go back now." Kai yelled. The rain fell hard around them and Karen shivered in the cold.

"It's not too late Kai. Popuri will forgive you, you just say I do and it's all forgotten in a moment. Popuri loves you Kai, you, no one else. You may not _think _you're right for Popuri but she _knows _you are. I know you love her too, you can stay here and ruin your life and hers or you can go back and save the marriage." Karen said deeply. Kai nodded slowly and looked through the fog and out over the trees. The rain was beginning to pour harder, big heavy drops descending upon them like silver bullets.

"I can't do it Karen, I just..." Kai said slowly, Karen glared at him and slapped him again. His face moved to the side with the impact and he gazed at her sadly.

"Kai there's only one question you've got to ask yourself, and if the answer's yes then nothing else matters. Do you love her?" Karen asked. Kai looked at her and he looked like a lost child.

"Yes I do." Kai said honestly.

"Then that's all you have to say." Karen said and she pulled Kai into a hug. Together they walked back to the church to salvage the wedding.

They arrived back in the hall, by which time the people had become rowdy and the food was gone. Popuri grinned, she looked wet and cold, but happy.

"Let's get married." Kai said grinning broadly. Popuri nodded and they took their place back at the alter.

"Everyone's tired so let's just go to where we were before. Kai Jones do you take Popuri Iris to be your lawful wedded wife?" Carter said, smiling once again. Karen saw the people hold their breath.

"I do." Kai said and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Popuri smiled happily and Karen laughed as she looked at the puddle of water beneath bother their feet.

"Then you may kiss the bride." Carter said happily and Kai pulled Popuri into a deep kiss.

After the wedding Karen and Ann helped clear away the plates while Kai and Popuri disappeared. Karen decided it was none of her business what they did after the wedding and decided not to ask. But she and Ann were both content not knowing, they just knew that Popuri was now Mrs. Jones and that was all that mattered. Over the next few weeks Popuri and Kai built a house above Kai's summer restaurant and they spent most of the summer doing couple things.

Karen spent most of the summer just hanging out with her friends, as far as she could see things just had to keep getting better. After many days spent simply sunbathing on the beach her skin had turned a gorgeous golden tan and of that she was proud. Karen and Ann had spent most of the summer arguing over who would get married first, after that Karen knew that she had to get Jack to propose. But she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to get married, she wanted to travel the world and meet new people and marriage she knew would hold her back. She wasn't like Popuri, with family values top of her list, she still wanted adventure. But one thing she knew was that she didn't want to be the last single girl. So she had begun to drop heavy hints for Jack to propose. Such as, "look at that beautiful feather, did you know guys use it to propose" and "wow Popuri and Kai sure are lucky to be _married_" but her personal favourite was to make a scene and shout "I don't wanna die alone". Jack seemed to be picking up on the hints but whenever Karen made a scene he just looked oblivious.

Ann was taking less drastic measures to become a bride, instead she was saving up for a blue feather of her own to propose to Cliff. Popuri had laughed at this idea, a women proposing! But Ann insisted it was the modern age and they should get with the programme. Karen was becoming desperate herself and that blue feather at the store looked very tempting. After yet another discussion with Ann and Popuri about marriage she made up her mind and headed to the store. There sat the blue feather her dad had ordered in, he had ordered quite a few since he knew that the girls were of a marriageable age. The blue feather glistened gently and Karen licked her lips, all she had to do was reach out and grab it. She wrapped her hand gently around it and picked it up to admire it, from nowhere her dad appeared behind her.

"Karen, what are ya doing? That blue feather's for guys to propose to girls with, not a toy for you." Jeff said in the most annoying voice he had. Karen glared red faced at him and put the feather down quickly.

"I was just looking Dad. Besides I don't want it for a toy, I want it to propose to Jack with." She whined. Jeff sighed and straightened the feathers, he then ruffled Karen's hair awkwardly. She quickly flattened it and stepped away from the feather.

"I know you want to get married sweetie but wait until Jack proposes to you okay. I'm sure he will someday and there's no point spoiling it by buying a feather of your own. Now do me a favour and deliver this bag of corn to Lillia. That's my girl." Jeff said. Karen growled and mumbled something about Jeff not knowing anything. She delivered the seeds quickly and was greeted by a happy Popuri.

"Hi Karen, I'm just checking up on Mom. Did you get the feather?" Popuri said amiably. Karen shook her head and then spotted Rick snorting with laughter by the hen coop. Popuri puffed out her cheeks and pouted and Rick snorted again.

"What's so funny Rick?" Popuri demanded, with her hands on her hips. Rick stopped laughing abruptly and gave Popuri one of his lecture looks.

"I can't believe Jack hasn't proposed yet... what a loser. Had we still been together I would have proposed ages ago. I can't believe Karen has to resort to buying her own feather!" Rick said bursting out laughing again. Karen gave him an icy glare and Rick stopped laughing.

"At least I have someone to propose to, what are you going to marry Rick... a chicken?" Karen asked coolly. Rick snarled at her and turned to walk inside. Popuri giggled and waved goodbye to Karen, heading back home with a basket of eggs.

A week before the firework festival Karen was sitting at the bar of the inn drinking a milkshake and reading a magazine. Suddenly Jack walked in with a worried look on his face. Karen looked up at him with questioning eyes and he looked at her, his chocolate brown eyes so warm they almost made her melt.

"Karen, I have bad news." He said glumly. Karen cocked her head and looked worried. Jack took a seat next to her and ordered himself a large chocolate milkshake.

"A large? This must be bad." Karen said, trying to find something to cheer him up. He gave her a small smile and swivelled in his chair to face her.

"Karen, my Dad's sick, really sick. My Mom talked to me on the phone and told me it's bad, real bad. They're not sure... they're not sure if he's going to make it..." Jack said with obvious fear in his eyes. Karen looked at him with sympathy and nodded for him to continue.

"Well anyway, I want to go over there... you know to help around the house and look after my dad until he gets better... or... or..." Jack said gulping down tears. Karen pulled him close to her and stroked his back gently.

"How long do you think you'd be gone?" Karen asked. She knew how selfish it sounded, but she had to know. Although she wanted to be the perfect girlfriend and say "of course honey, no matter what I'll support you" but she didn't want to let him go.

"I'm not sure, it could be weeks, months or maybe even years. I don't want to leave you, but I have to be with my dad." Jack said. Karen gulped, the selfish part of her brain was screaming "no don't let him leave you, he can't" but her heart and conscience told her "let him go, he had to be with his dad now. You can have a lifetime together, he may only have a few months left with his dad". She couldn't say anything however and simply sat staring into space. Jack looked at her, his brown eyes seemed to tell her that everything would be okay and so she nodded.

"You've gotta do what you've gotta do and I'll... support you, no matter what." She said and gave him a smile. He beamed at her and held her tightly in his arms and whispered in her ear that everything would be alright. After hours of hugging Ann walked down the stairs and laughed at the gloomy atmosphere.

"Whoa, who died?" She exclaimed and both Karen and Jack glared at her.

After Jack had explained all his plans to them Karen sat staring blankly at the ceiling. He was to leave on the 26th of summer, the day after the fireworks festival and was going to stay until he felt he could leave. He was leaving his animals with Barley and he was going to leave the farm completely to overgrow. Karen had sat listening to his plans glumly, she felt like a boulder had fallen into her stomach and was digging sharply into her. She didn't want Jack to leave her, he was such a huge part of her life. She headed over to church to talk to Carter about her feeling on the matter. Carter was always prepared to listen and he seemed to have infinite wisdom. He greeted Karen with a smiling face that only faded when he watched Karen burst into tears.

"Hush child what's wrong?" Carter said in a kind voice. Karen explained tearfully and Carter listened.

"Father Carter, I don't want him to go away. I want him to stay, I can't live without him. But I can't make him stay just for me, I know he won't." Karen moaned. Carter nodded and handed Karen his handkerchief to wipe her eyes, she took it and blew her nose violently. She offered it back to Carter and he refused it with a disgusted look.

"My dear, I know you want him to stay with you. But have you ever heard the expression love has wings?" He asked. Karen shook her head and blew her nose again.

"If you love something or someone you have to let it go. Because if you truly love him, it doesn't matter about your own happiness, you should only want him to be happy. So let him go and if he truly loves you then trust that he'll come back. Have you heard my sermon about the two mothers and the baby?" Carter asked. Karen shook her head again and looked at Carter expectantly.

"Very well, I'll tell you. A long time ago there were two mothers and one baby. They went to a wise king and both claimed that the baby belonged to them. They asked the king to judge who the baby belonged to. The king could not decide so he told someone to cut the baby in half and give each woman half the baby." Carter said. Karen grimaced and looked at him with big green eyes.

"That's awful how could they kill the baby?" Karen asked. Carter put his finger to his lips and signalled for Karen to be quiet.

"The first woman agreed that this was the fair thing to do but the second woman screamed and begged the king not to harm the baby. She told him that the first woman could have the baby as long as it was not harmed. The king declared that the baby belonged to the second woman, because she would rather give the baby up than see it harmed." Carter said. Karen stared at him blankly and Carter coughed.

"So what's that to do with me? I don't have a baby." Karen asked indignantly. Carter chuckled and patted her on the head.

"Rather than let Jack come to any harm emotional or physical, let him go. If you really love him, let him go my dear." Carter said. Karen nodded and thanked Carter. She then headed out of the church and to her house to think.

She sat on her bed and looked at the pictures of her and Jack together, each time smiling and happy. She turned over and cried into her pillow, she knew what she had to do but it hurt. It hurt to let him go when he was such a big part of her life and what if he met someone else? It wasn't like they were engaged and he pretty much had to be faithful to her, he could pretty much do as he pleased.

"But he wouldn't leave me would he? He loves me, doesn't he? Why is this so hard?" Karen whined. Suddenly she heard a familiar knock on the door and she waited as Jack walked into the room.

"Karen... I won't go... it's fine." Jack said softly. Karen sniffed and looked up into his warm eyes, it was those eyes that she had first fallen in love with. Every time she looked into her eyes her troubles seemed to melt, but not this time.

"You have to go. You can't stay for me, sometimes family is more important..." Karen said trying to sound brave. Jack sat down on the bed and looked at her unsurely, as though waiting for her to break down and cry.

"Nothing's more important than you." He said after a while. It was just like him to say that, always thinking about her.

"No, your Dad needs you. I can't make you stay, I love you too much." Karen said quietly. Jack laughed and she furrowed her brow.

"Have you been talking to Carter?" He asked smiling. Karen forced a smile and nodded, she had to be brave for him.

"I don't want to leave Karen but..." Jack said slowly. Karen swallowed hard, trying to force a lump out of her throat.

"I know, its fine." She said. She saw Jack's eyes water, he looked like he was about to cry.

"I love you." He said softly, which made Karen burst into tears.

"I love you too." She cried. Jack wrapped his arms around her and they embraced for a long time. Karen listened to his heart beating, clinging to every second she was with him. She felt like something inside her was breaking, but she knew she had made the right decision. She wondered if Jack felt the same as she did, she couldn't tell that his heart was snapping in two.

Too soon the fireworks festival came, it was Jack and Karen's last evening together. They had sat and watched the fireworks together and were going back to Jack's for the last time. They kissed passionately on Jack's bed and Karen finally felt she was ready. She began slowly unbuttoning the purple shirt she was wearing and she smiled as Jack's eyes widened. She felt slightly worried when she noticed a conflict going on within Jack.

"No Karen, we can't." He said standing up. Karen's gaped at him in a mixture of surprise, horror and anger.

"What?" She asked, her jaw dropping. Jack took a deep breath and repeated what he had just said.

"Why exactly, it's our last night together Jack!" Karen said angrily. Jack took another deep breath and began pacing.

"That's exactly it. I can't just sleep with you and then leave, it's just wrong. It would be like taking advantage." He said quickly. Karen glared at him in fury and quickly buttoned up her shirt again.

"You and your stupid morals, I don't care! Do you think...? I'm fat!" Karen spat, tears emerging in her eyes. Jack was completely taken aback and had absolutely no idea what to say, if anything at all.

"I... um... no you're not fat... it's just... erm... I love you..." Jack said hopefully, hoping that the mention of "love" would get him off the hook. Karen's face softened slightly for a second, but then tears began to drip quickly running down her perfectly shaped nose. She turned and strode quickly towards the door.

"This is not how I wanted to say goodbye." She said quietly and stormed out of the door. Jack flinched as he heard the door click shut, then the silence crept in. In a way the silence was worse than the shouting. Jack sighed deeply, cursing himself he then collapsed onto the perfectly made bed. Only a crease remained where Karen had sat. Karen stormed through the dark night, cold and alone many thoughts buzzing through her head like flies. She turned into her house and stormed up to her bedroom. She then collapsed onto her bed and screamed into her pillow.

The next morning Jack's boat was due to leave, he only had ten minutes left and Karen still hadn't arrived. He wondered if she would come at all, he couldn't blame her if she didn't. He looked over the horizon waiting for the Zack's boat to come to carry him home. Popuri stood next to him, chewing her hair, a sign that she was nervous. He knew she had the same wonder whether Karen would come. Karen had obviously told them both everything and Jack was glad he wouldn't have to explain. Ann stood next to Popuri looking determined that Karen would come, her faith in her friend was touching to Jack.

"Don't worry Jack, she'll come... she always comes at the last minute no matter what, she may not want to but I know that she will." Ann said, her bright blue eyes showed great determination. Jack gave her a grateful smile and she gave him a reassuring one back. Soon though the boat arrived and still no Karen. Popuri was munching on her hair like crazy, but Ann still stood looking determined.

"The boat's here guys. Never mind... goodbye and thanks for everything." Jack said glumly picking up his bags. Popuri gave him a big hug and a small peck on the cheek before blushing furiously.

"There she is..." Ann said calmly and sure enough there was Karen running towards them from the edge of the beach. She dived into Jack's arms and gave him a huge kiss.

"Don't worry about anything okay. It's all in the past... and when you come back...well. We'll start again from there, good luck. I'll miss you, and I love you." Karen said slightly out of breath. Jack grinned broadly and gave Karen one last kiss goodbye.

"Goodbye Karen, I love you too." He said and handed her a bunch of the most beautiful forget-me-nots, he winked and then stepped onto the boat. Karen waved and wiped a few tears from her eyes, watching as her love, her soul mate, her greatest treasure sailed out of her reach.

* * *

There Jack goes, what will Karen do until he comes back, let's find out shall we...


	9. Life goes on

Hey guys, sorry about not posting sooner, i've been really busy with exams and such. But anyway, welcome to the tragic chapter, enjoy...

* * *

9. Life goes on

It was a few lonely months after Jack had left on that boat and the whole time Karen hadn't heard from him, the island phone hadn't been working in a while. But as a gift to Karen the villagers had recently fixed it so if Jack did call, Karen would be sure to get it. But still she hadn't heard from him, all sorts of things were going through her mind. Over the months things had got easier without him, but that worried Karen. What if when he came back there was no room in her life for him, but that was nonsense, she would always have room for him. He would always be in her heart, no matter what. She still couldn't help worrying, wondering when he would call. It was taking all the strength she had not to wait hopelessly by the inn phone for him to call, she had to keep going. So she kept busy, helping her parents in the shop and trying to upkeep Jack's farm as best as possible.

Everyday without fail she would go over and weed the gardens or smash some rocks if she had the strength, but it hurt to be at his farm when he wasn't actually there. The starry night festival was coming up and it depressed her thoroughly that she wouldn't be able to spend it with anyone. She had decided that she might spend it with Carter, he was often alone on that night and she liked his company. So on the 23rd she visited him with a few eggs that Lillia had given her from Jack's chickens. She stood inside the musty church and breathed in the delicious scent of incense.

"Myrhh..." She murmured, taking in a deep gulp. Carter walked over and greeted her with a smile.

"Why hello Karen, how are you? Coping?" He asked amiably. Karen nodded slowly and handed him the eggs.

"Here, these are for you, they're from... Jack's chickens..." She said sweetly, though the mention of Jack's name gave her a longing ache.

"Yes... it must be hard for you... especially as the starry night festival is tomorrow." He said frowning and Karen nodded.

"Well, that's what I came to ask you. Would you mind if I ate with you here at the church?" Karen asked hopefully. The young pastor's face lit up as he nodded.

"Of course Karen, that would be delightful!" He said happily. She smiled sweetly and then turned to leave, if she couldn't be happy at least she could spread a little sunshine for others.

"Oh, and I'll cook!" Karen said before walking out of the door. She didn't see the panic-stricken look emerge onto Carters face.

"Dear lord, save my soul." He whispered before turning to clean the alter.

Karen spent the whole of that day learning how to cook a roast dinner from Ann. Eventually she ended up with a delicious dinner, after only four tries! That evening she headed over to the church wearing a beautiful, long black dress that showed as little skin as possible, she would be in the eyes of god after all. She placed the food in front of Carter triumphantly but frowned as he checked it over thoroughly.

"What are you waiting for? Dig in!" She said sweetly. Carter cautiously cut some of the chicken and put it onto his plate before taking a small bite. Karen held her breath and watched as he smiled and began to dig in.

"Delicious Karen, your cooking is improving!" Carter said smiling. She beamed and helped herself to some chicken.

"Well I did take lessons from Ann... so... well it's thanks to her." She admitted blushing. Carter laughed and took a large mouthful of chicken.

"Well Karen, you'll make a wonderful wife to Jack when he comes back. It'll be a pleasure for me to marry you two. You're one hell of a girl Karen, don't forget that!" Carter said seriously.

"Hell, Mr. Carter? Are pastors allowed to say such words?" Karen said in a mock posh accent. Carter smiled and then stood up to clean up the dishes.

"I won't tell if you don't..." He said with a wink. Karen laughed and helped Carter with the dishes.

After the dinner Karen said goodbye to Carter and went for a moonlight stroll on the beach. She had always loved the beach, how the waves rolled gently against the sand and made a soft rushing sound. She looked out across the horizon and saw the stars, winking at her like tiny eyes. She smiled, the thought that somewhere out there Jack was probably looking at the same stars comforted her. The sand seemed to glow with the moonlight and all the crabs were crawling into their holes, hurrying away from the bright moonlight.

"I miss you Jack, please come home soon." She whispered to the stars. Her mother had once told her that if you told a message to the stars they would give it to whoever you wanted to hear it. It was just a silly tale, but somehow the stars seemed so magical that perhaps it could be true.

"Hey, are you alright Karen?" A voice said from behind her. Karen spun around and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was just Popuri.

"Oh Poe, you scared me... yeah I'm fine. Where's Kai?" Karen said, sounding distant. Popuri frowned and looked into the dark seaside cottage that was her home.

"He fell asleep straight after eating the dinner I cooked... I swear he won't know what hit him in the morning." She said her hands on her hips. Karen laughed and sat down on the sand.

"You're thinking about Jack aren't you?" Popuri said sympathetically.

"That's no secret Poe, I'm always thinking about Jack," she said with a sigh, "is this how you used to feel about Kai?" Popuri looked at the sand for a few moments then nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I was always wondering if he had some other girlfriend somewhere else. I always thought he might decide not to come back one summer... and that would be it." She said smiling almost fondly at the memories, the magic of time allowing her to laugh at past pain.

"How did you manage?" Karen asked. Popuri laughed nervously then looked at her seriously.

"I didn't." She said, her eyes stonily serious. "It was only when he proposed that I was okay with it... and even then..."

"So there's no coping?" Karen said, sounding almost betrayed.

"Look Karen, you just have to do what I never could, trust him. You've been with Jack for over a year, you owe him that at least." Popuri said kindly. There must have been something about the night time that gave Popuri a wisdom she didn't posses during the day, Karen mused.

"Thanks Popuri. I'll try." Karen said determinedly. Popuri nodded and stood up, brushing the golden sand from her dress.

"G'night Karen." Popuri said yawning cutely, like a tiny pink kitten.

"Good night Poe." Karen smiled and continued to stare out to sea.

The months of waiting for Jack had taken their toll on Karen; she was always tired and always depressed. She still hadn't heard from Jack and it was nearing the New Years festival. The Stocking festival spirit just wasn't in her and she just couldn't be bothered with it. Everyone else was reliving the common popular tales of why they hung up a stocking, but she just moped at home. She was setting up catalogues of possible gifts for people on a rack in the shop when May came scampering in, her cheeks flushed.

"Morning Karen!" May exclaimed and dashed up to give Karen a hug. Karen hugged the tiny girl gently and picked her up smiling.

"What's up May, do you want something?" Karen asked kindly. May nodded, her bright grey eyes shining with energy, and handed Karen a crumpled shopping list.

"Grandpa wants these things, he's gonna make Stocking pudding for the whole village!" May exclaimed excitedly. Karen smiled, it was just like Barley to try and lift peoples' spirits. Karen took the list and looked down it, she then walked around the shelves and picked up the ingredients they stocked.

"And I believe Lillia will sell you the eggs. Oh and here..." Karen said handing May a chocolate bar. "This is for you but don't tell your Grandpa."

"Thank you Karen!" May exclaimed grabbing the chocolate bar in her sweaty mitts and pocketing it. Karen grinned and ruffled May's hair. She then waited for May to leave, but instead she looked at Karen expectantly with puppy dog eyes.

"Is something wrong May?" She asked nervously. May smiled sweetly and cocked her head slightly, her raven black plaits bobbing to the side.

"No silly! Why aren't you coming with me, we have to go to church to listen to the tale of how the stocking festival began!" May said innocently. Karen shook her head and tried to smile.

"Oh I'm sorry May, I just don't feel in the stocking spirit this year, you go on without me." She said. May looked heart broken and she pouted at her, her grey eyes shining. It was not in the child's understanding, after all she'd never suffered an aching heart.

"You have to come, its tradition and you being sad is no excuse, kay?" May said looking slightly cross, her tiny brow furrowed in determination. Karen hated to admit it but the girl was right. There was no point breaking tradition just to mope.

"Okay, you've convinced me." Karen said reluctantly, she reached for the keys and closed the shop. Following May quickly as she skipped down the road. They walked into the big church doors and silently took their seats, it seemed they were the last to come.

"You convinced her to come then?" Carter said smiling. May nodded happily and fidgeted in her seat. Karen grinned, only just overhearing the little conversation, so May had been part of the devious plan.

"Welcome villagers to our yearly service, I hope you are all well. Once again we will remember the story about how the stocking festival came to be. We remember on this day that the stocking festival is not just about the gifts but family and love. Let us begin.

"A long time ago, before our town became the thriving one it is today there was a poor family that had virtually nothing. They lived by the goddess pond and ate whatever they could find and stored the rest for the winter. One winter they found that their food reserves had ran out and they had nothing left to eat. They starved for a week and by the eve of the 25th they were desperate. They had hung up there final pair of stockings to dry before they would travel the long journey to the market on the other island to trade them for food. That night they prayed to the goddess to protect them and as they slept a strange thing happened."

"The Goddess sent her harvest sprites to put in each stocking food enough to last them until spring. The family was saved by their faith in the goddess, and the goddess herself of course. So that is why on the 25th we give each other gifts to celebrate the giving of food from the goddess. Thank you for coming today folks!" Carter finished, beaming at the congregation.

Everyone was left with a warm fuzzy feeling inside preparing them for the festival, even Karen. So she walked home feeling better and prepared for the festival. That night she hung up her stocking over the hearth feeling happy as she smiled thinking about the presents she had given everyone. To each of the girls she had given a different gold necklace with a jewel, for Popuri pink diamond, for Ann topaz, for Elli sapphire and for Mary black pearl. It had been rather pricy but Saibara had given her a discount for four necklaces. She had given the whole village beautiful gifts but mainly gifts they could use too. Buying the gifts for others had helped her forget about Jack for a while. But it hadn't stopped her buying a beautiful golden wristwatch for when he came home. She couldn't wait to see his face when she gave it to him. After putting up her stocking she went up to bed and sat against it. She looked up at the sky through her window and saw one single star, and she prayed to the goddess.

"Dear Goddess, please make Jack's stocking festival a good one, thank you." She said softly. She then buried herself beneath her warm duvet and closed her eyes.

In the morning she ran downstairs as she had done for so many years just like she was a carefree kid again. She could smell the sweet scent of mince pies and mulled wine just like every year. It was so comforting and she felt so warm and so happy, hoping that for just that day she could forget about her worries. She grabbed her stocking and weighed it in her hands.

"A good haul this year!" She said to herself and pulled out the first present. It was wrapped in silver paper and had a pretty pink ribbon on it, an obvious sign it was from Popuri. She read the label quickly to check.

"Dear Karen, happy stocking festival, I hope you like my gift!" It read.

"Hey Mom, Dad, can I open the presents yet?" Karen yelled excitedly to the next room. Sasha and Jeff walked in with a tray filled with mince pies and three mugs of mulled wine.

"Sure why not, we'll grab ours." Sasha said putting down the tray. Karen ripped off the paper and found a beautiful long black skirt with a golden belt. Karen looked at an obviously homemade label that had Popuri sewed onto it, proving Popuri had made the dress herself.

"Oh it's beautiful." Karen said tearfully. She then found Ann's which was wrapped in gold paper. She picked up the label and read it.

"Dear Karen, this sort of goes with what Poe made, we made them both together, love Ann." Karen guessed it was some sort of T-shirt and sure enough when she unwrapped it, it was a matching low-cut t-shirt. Karen smiled and put it next to the skirt, they were great gifts. She then unwrapped Mary's and Elli's gifts, Mary had given her a shining golden letter opener in the shape of a sword and Elli gave her a pretty pearl bracelet. Everyone else gave her standard things that were either useful for her or typical of them. Then she came to Saibara's gift, wondering if it would be a lump of iron ore or something. She opened it and found a necklace just like the one she's given the other girls but with an amethyst, on the note it read.

"Dear Karen, I didn't want you to be the odd one out, you're all jewels." She smiled. What a great gift. But her mind couldn't help saying that the best gift of all would be for Jack to come home like it happens in the cheesy Hollywood movies, where the man suddenly arrived at the last minute and swept the girl into his arms. But Jack didn't come home. She made herself one single promise for that day though, the smile would not fade even though he was all she could think about. She visited everyone handing out mince pies she swore to everyone that her mother had made. They each took one after that promise, nothing like people refusing mince pies because you might have cooked them to make you feel on top of the world. Her final visits were to Ann and Popuri, Karen pictured them, both snuggled up next to their boyfriends.

"I don't want to be alone for Christmas, Jack. Please just come home." Karen begged, she felt tears trickle down her face as she hastily wiped them off.

"I promised I would keep smiling." She said to herself trying to keep a smile. But she couldn't and she collapsed on the pathway. She cried and watched her tears drip onto the cold stones of the path. Suddenly she heard footprints behind her and she felt warm arms pick her up.

"Jack?" She whispered hopefully. The warm arms brought her into a hug and she saw the beige overalls wrap around her. It wasn't Jack. She was just thinking wishfully.

"No it's Gray. Karen, are you okay? Come on inside the blacksmiths, don't worry Grandpa's out, he won't see you... like this." Gray said softly. He sat her down on Saibara's bed and made her a cup of hot chocolate.

"The holidays are hard, huh?" He said, his usually depressed face held a nervous smile. Karen nodded and accepted the hot chocolate gratefully.

"I'm sorry Gray... I just... I just..." She began but she felt herself break down again.

"I don't know why I'm so upset... it's so stupid." She said, angry at herself for seeming weak.

"I know how you feel, I always miss my parents." Gray said sadly. Karen smiled at him sympathetically and he nodded.

"Pathetic huh?" He laughed. Karen shook her head quickly and took a deep sip of hot chocolate.

"No, I shouldn't be so upset. I just miss him, where are your parents?" She asked. Gray cringed at a painful memory and closed his big blue eyes.

"I... don't know. Dead, maybe... maybe just somewhere far away." Gray said trying to shrug. Karen beckoned for him to sit down next to her and she gave him a hug, both leaning on each other for support.

"Carter used to always say a worry shared is a worry halved, or something like that anyway." Karen said sweetly and Gray nodded.

"I remember the day I left. I came here to live with Grandpa. My dad had put all my belongings into a suitcase, with just enough money to get here, nothing for food or anything. Mom was crying and he handed me the suitcase and pointed out of the door. He told me to go somewhere and make something out of myself, because they sure as hell wouldn't support me anymore. So I left. Winter always reminds me of that, because it was winter when I left, and the snow was falling and I walked for miles until I could find a boat. I was lucky to have remembered where Grandpa lived and I looked him up, I tell you this place is hard to find." Gray said, almost laughing at the bitter memories.

"I remember when you first came here, we were all quite young. The first thing I remember about you were your eyes, they were just so blue... they still are." Karen laughed. Gray smiled and blinked, Karen could tell that a close moment was difficult for him.

"Anyway, let's not stay in the past. It's too painful anyway. How are you and Mary?" Karen asked and drained her cup of hot chocolate. Gray winced and shook his head.

"Not good. We may have the love of reading books in common but not a lot else. We never talk when we're together, we're too shy. We never talk like this." Gray said bitterly, gesturing between them. Karen nodded in understanding, relationships truly were hard.

"She does like you a lot, she's just shy and I know you are too. Talk to her, that's all she wants you to do okay? Talk about anything, share your interests!"

"All I would end up talking about is being a blacksmith." Gray admitted smiling shyly.

"Then talk to her like you talk to me, that's easy enough isn't it?" Karen asked smiling. Gray nodded slowly.

"But you're so easy to talk to!" Gray protested.

"Just talk to her, don't be nervous, it's just because you like her so much." Karen said. The thought crossed her mind that who was she to give relationship advice, she'd almost destroyed hers several times.

"I'll... I'll give it a try." Gray said giving in.

"Good, now I've got mince pies to deliver. Come round and talk to me any time okay? I could do with the company." Karen said smiling. She gave Gray a big hug then proceeded out of the door.

"I do like her, but not as much as you." Gray whispered to himself before continuing his work.

Karen headed round to Ann's and was given a drink of mulled wine, Ann's was the best around. After a hearty chat about whose hot chocolate was the best hers or Popuri's Karen finally went to visit Popuri for a mug of her famous hot chocolate. Popuri invited Karen in and handed her the mug of sweet hot chocolate ready for her arrival, the mug was huge with whipped cream and pink marshmallows oozing delicious and submerging into the milky brown liquid. She took the mince pies happily and gave Karen a hug. Kai then walked down in his underwear before hurrying back upstairs to change. He then came down again and greeted Karen with a hug.

"Happy holidays Karen! Another round of mulled wine on the house!" Kai slurred. Popuri sighed and handed Kai a glass of water instead.

"No more, he's drunk Karen." Popuri said shaking her head.

"I'm not drunk, you believe me right Karen. You know Karen, you're my only friend, you're the only one who cares, I love you." Kai said falling onto Karen for a hug.

"Right you are Kai." Karen said rolling her eyes. Popuri picked Kai up and propped him onto the sofa.

"It's a good job this is just a Stocking festival thing." Popuri pouted putting her hands on her hips. Karen laughed and nodded then she drained her hot chocolate.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone, I'm sure you're dying for some drunken fun." Karen said smiling mischievously.

"No Karen, please." Popuri begged but Karen shook her head before darting out of the door. She chuckled to herself before walking through mother square. The snow had begun to fall and she caught a snowflake on her tongue. A thin layer of snow had formed on the orange bricks of the square making it look like an iced cake. Rick trotted up to her and gave her an unwanted hug.

"Happy stocking festival Karen. See you around." He said. Karen nodded trying to avoid scowling. She watched with joy as he walked off afterwards. She then headed home ready to hibernate.

The time until the New Year's festival up on Mother's Hill dragged on and on with her longing for Jack, but eventually it arrived. She was sitting watching the sun fall quickly below the horizon and the moon rising up to take its place. The sky was salmon pink and the moon was like a silver penny being flicked into the sky, ready for the heads or tails outcome.

Karen always spent this time thinking of her New Year's resolution, for many years it had been to give up chocolate. She had never succeeded though, girls seldom do. But that year she had an even better one, one that would benefit everyone, not just her figure. She was going to forget all the past grudges she had and start a clean slate with people. She would still remember all the nice things they'd done for her, when they'd helped her when times were rough. But she'd forget the petty grudges that made her relationships with people so much harder. It would be harder to forgive some people than others but she swore she's do it no matter what. That meant forgiving even Rick, which would be hardest of all. Rick walked over to her, his hair the same colour as the sun and he smiled sheepishly.

"Karen, I want you to know that my New Year's resolution is to be a better person. Meaning that I'll never do anything like I did to you again. Now I don't expect you to forgive me, but I just wanted to let you know, I'm sorry." Rick said and for the first time in ages looking at him didn't make her feel sick. She smiled and hugged him.

"Want to know what my New Year's resolution is? It's to forgive everyone who's hurt me in the past, including you. So let's start on a clean slate okay?" Karen said sweetly. The hugest smile appeared on Rick's face as he let her go.

"That sounds like the best Stocking festival present ever, even if it was a little late." He said smiling. Karen nodded, and she felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders. Suddenly Ann ran towards her with a huge smile on her face.

"Karen, you'll never guess what! Jack's called!" Ann exclaimed. Karen's heart did a summersault and she ran towards the inn.

She ran feeling as light as a feather, he'd finally called. She found it almost strange that as soon as she forgave Rick, Jack called. It was almost like some divine being was rewarding her for doing the right thing, which led her to wonder whether she should do the right thing more often. She grabbed the phone and took a deep breath.

"Hello?" She asked nervously.

"Hi Karen, I've missed you." Jack said. She smiled at hearing his voice for the first time in ages. It was like the sweetest music in the world played by a league of angels.

"I've missed you too." Karen said, she felt her throat tighten, she was about to cry.

"I'm so sorry I haven't called, I've been so busy, watching over dad and helping him through his operation. It was some sort of heart problem, but he's getting better. I can come back soon, I just want to stay until he's recovered, is that okay? But if you tell me you want me to come back now I will." Jack said quickly. Karen breathed in, her selfish side wanted to say, come back now, but she knew she couldn't.

"No Jack, staying a few more weeks won't hurt, I want you to see him recover. The longer I wait the better it will be when you come back." Karen said, trying to sound brave.

"Really?" Jack said, even over the phone he could tell what she really wanted. But she hated him questioning her, it made it so much harder.

"Yes." Karen said sounding as definite as she could.

"Really?" Jack asked again. Inside her something was screaming, no, no make him come back, but she ignored it.

"YES!" She said in a don't-argue-with-me voice. She heard Jack laugh and that made her smile.

"Karen..." He said slowly.

"Yes Jack?" Karen asked. She then heard some voices in the background.

"Mr. Hunter, your father is waking up, please come quickly." A nurse said. Karen heard Jack mumbled "I'm coming" and sighed. They weren't going to get a long conversation after all.

"I'll be back in a few weeks, maybe a month. I've got to go now, sorry we couldn't talk for longer. I love you, goodbye." He said quickly, Karen could hear his reluctance to hang up.

"I love..." Karen began but she heard the phone beep, he'd hung up. Karen slid down the wall and onto the floor. She felt tears slide down her face, both happiness and sadness. But finally after months of waiting, he was coming home.

For the next month she anticipated his arrival, she couldn't wait to hug him, to feel his warm arms around her, making all her sadness wash away. She had only a few more days to wait and she was dancing around waiting for his boat to arrive. Only one boat came from the mainland every month and she was sure he would be on that one. She had got the time off Zack and was waiting eagerly at the beach for him to arrive. She had Ann on Popuri on her side, watching with glee as Karen danced around.

"He'll be here soon!" Karen exclaimed. Popuri and Ann nodded, after the fifth time of hearing it. For three hours Karen waited on the beach for the boat that never came, for three hours she looked hopefully out at the sea. Afterwards she realised that the boat wasn't coming, and an hour after that she sat on the beach crying. All Ann and Popuri could do was watch hopelessly as their best friend cried her tears into the sea that had betrayed her. Karen was then helped home before she collapsed onto her bed escaping into her dreams. Popuri then walked back home with Ann.

"That lying scum, I can't believe he would do that to her. He should at least call!" Popuri said, her anger evident. Ann was silent, making Popuri panic.

"Ann no, I know what's going through that head of yours no. He would not cheat on Karen." Popuri said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Maybe your right. But I'm just saying, he didn't call for a long time before. Who knows his dad isn't already dead." Ann said shrugging. Popuri gaped at her and stood still while Ann carried on walking. Popuri then trotted after her.

"Ann for once, just believe in him and think that he missed his boat or his dad got sicker okay and don't tell your suspicions to Karen okay? That's all she needs right now." Popuri said. Ann shrugged but nodded, they then walked home in silence.

For the next few days Karen moped at home, no one saw or heard anything from her not even her parents.

"I'm getting worried, she hasn't even come down to eat." Sasha said panic-stricken to Popuri.

"Don't worry Sasha, she wouldn't do anything drastic. She's just upset, she'll come when she's ready." Ann told Sasha.

"Speak of the devil." Jeff said as Karen emerged. She looked terrible, like she hadn't washed or even moved in three days. Her hair was bedraggled and her face was dirty with tear stains running down it. The mascara she had put on when she though she would meet Jack had run down her face and her green eyes were dull.

"Karen you look terrible." Popuri gasped before clapping her hand over her mouth. Ann glared at her then went to hug Karen.

"Thanks Popuri." Karen said sarcastically. She saw their worried faces and sighed. "I'm fine honest, I've just had a rough few days."

"Are you sure you're okay, after...?" Popuri asked nervously. Karen gazed at Popuri blankly.

"After what Poe?" Karen said, her eyes dared Popuri to mention it.

"Nothing." Popuri said in a small voice.

"Right." Karen said and grabbed herself a bowl of cereal. She munched it down and then helped herself to another bowl while her family and friends watched worriedly.

"I'm going to have a shower if no one objects." Karen said casually. She then grabbed a towel and walked into the bathroom. Everyone exchanged worried glances before carrying on with what they were doing. They had no idea that for the past three days Karen had been willing herself to forget the incident and carry on as normal and finally she had been able to do it. When she emerged from the bathroom she looked much better, she gave everyone a smile then went back to her room to change and do her hair. She then left the house to take a hike up the mountain. Leaving everyone bewildered.

That evening she arrived back home giving everyone a smile like nothing was wrong. Suddenly Zack burst into the house with a call for Karen.

"Karen there's a call for you, from Jack's parents, they won't speak to anyone else. It sounds urgent." He said worriedly. Karen's heart began to thud as she ran down to the inn, her mind running a mile a minute. Was he missing?

"Hello?" She said worriedly as she picked up the phone.

"Is that Karen?" A women's voice asked.

"Yes."

"I'm Jack's mother." She said, she sounded distraught, her voice wavering dangerously.

"Is Jack's father alright?" Karen asked worriedly.

"Yes he's fine he made a full recovery. But it's about Jack... Karen he's dead."


	10. A Black Day

Hey guys, sorry for the whole long time no update thing.Thanks guys for reviewing, much appreciated smiles brightly.

Kinda depressing chapter andreally depressing to write, it almost hurts to kill off one of your own characters. A whole big chapter of depressiveness, so don't say i didn't warn you...

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10. A Black Day

Karen froze, holding the phone loosely in her hand, her heart had sunk to the pit of her stomach. Her whole world suddenly crashing down around her, nothing to be the same again.

_Jack's dead, Jack's dead_, she kept repeating it in her mind, trying to make sense of the senseless words.

"What?" She asked dumbstruck. She heard the women cry down the telephone.

"He's dead, Karen. The boat he was on, it was in a storm and... he didn't make it. They found thirty-seven bodies, his was... never found. We're going to... have a funeral, just a gathering, no body. Would it be okay if we had it at mineral town? Only it was more Jack's home before he died." Jack's Mom whispered, her croaky voice shaking.

"Y... yes." Karen murmured, still completely numb.

"Thank you dear." She said.

"Will Jack be coming?" Karen asked before she thought about what she was saying. His Mom began to cry and she hung up the phone. Ann walked up to Karen looking worried.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, smiling nervously. Karen stared into space and felt tears run down her cheeks. Ann frowned edging closer, cocking her head in confusion.

"No, Jack's... he's... dead." Karen said before collapsing onto the ground crying. It couldn't be true, it just couldn't be. She was sure Jack would walk in and hug her and say "ha fooled you". She still couldn't believe it, he was gone, buried beneath the ocean waves, eaten by the storm. In those few minutes her life crumbled beneath her as Ann stared blankly into space and everyone in the inn was silent. But there was nothing to say, nothing that could bring Jack back.

That's how things stayed for a long time, no one dared to break the silence that followed the news of Jack's death, because everyone knew no matter what they said it wouldn't be heard. Had anyone asked her how she felt, she would have been unable to answer. The feeling was indescribable. Like a hollow space is inside her, that only Jack could fill and that's the irony, because he was the only one who couldn't be there to fill it. The thought that she would never see him again, she would never feel the touch of his skin or the warmth of his lips. The cold chill that went up and down her spine wouldn't stop and he was gone. It was just so unbelievable that he wasn't there anymore, and she'd never see him again. Suddenly, she just wanted to die, to end the suffering, because no matter what she did, the pain wouldn't ease.

The funeral was organised over the next week, it would be held in the church, the service and the reading of what would be given to whom. Afterwards they would proceed to the beach and set fire to a wooden boat for him and send it off to sea.

Everyone had been bustling around asking whether Karen thought Jack would have wanted the chicken or the salmon, perhaps lobster? Karen's answer to all of these questions was "he wouldn't have wanted a funeral at all". This left the questioner silent as they went off to ask someone else. Popuri and Ann tried to organise most things, letting Karen mope in peace. She felt so detached from the rest of the world though, she kept seeing Jack everywhere, she had even begun to talk to him. But she felt as dead as he was, she wished she was. Because there was nothing left to live for. She hadn't said much to anyone since the news, she didn't have anything to say. But the first thing she uttered in the four days after was "what shall I say".

"What do you mean what shall I say?" Ann asked worriedly, but glad to hear Karen speak again.

"I have to say something... about him... at the..." Karen mumbled slowly, her words were almost incoherent. Ann understood and nodded handing her a pen and paper.

"Start writing something. Remember what I told you when you were trying to pick between Rick and Jack, follow your heart." Ann said kindly. Karen nodded and wandered off to write her speech, while everyone else prepared for the funeral.

The dark, bleak day of the funeral arrived. Although it was spring the weather was still dull. The sky was a stony grey and the clouds threatened to engulf everything. Karen wore a black dress and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes had huge dark bags under them from lack of sleep and her skin was ghostly white.

"Jack, be with me today." She whispered as she walked out of the house with her parents.

Everyone was sitting in the church in complete silence. Jack's recently recovered dad stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat whilst Karen took a seat at the front next to Jack's Mom.

"Thank you everyone for coming. I'm sure you all know Jack, some perhaps better than others. But as you all probably know he was a great man. As great a son, boyfriend and friend as anyone could ever know." He smiled weakly at his wife and Karen at this point.

"He died a tragic death and today we're all here to say goodbye. Jack, wherever you are, I just want to say, you were the best son a dad could ever have, and I love you more than any dad could love his son. My wife has a speech prepared too." He said softly before walking quickly from the stage before tears began to pour from his eyes.

Mrs. Hunter, Jack's Mom walked shakily onto the stage and looked over the black mass. Her eyes were red from crying and she had even bigger bags under her eyes than Karen.

"Jack was the best son a mother could ask for. He was kind and caring and he had the ability to see the best in people, even when they couldn't see it in themselves. He died a tragic death, going home after caring for his sick dad, he died caring for others. I'm sure he made all of us, at one point, feel better about ourselves when we needed to most. He had the great ability to find the silver lining in everything. Ironic, seeing as the person we need to see a silver lining in this, is the one person who can't be here. So I just want to say goodbye to my son, even though you're gone, you've left a tiny bit behind within us, our belief in ourselves. Now Karen, will you come up here and say a few words?" She choked out the last words as she began to cry. Karen walked up and looked at everyone cautiously, watching the tears form in their eyes. I must not cry, she told herself.

"Hello everyone, most of you I've known my whole life. I'm glad that you could all be here at the time I need you the most, but you all have always been there for me. I've had advice on what to say today, because honestly I had no idea. What do you say to a dead person you hadn't seen for months before they died? I was told to speak from my heart, just like I was told before I fell in love with Jack. It was my heart that welcomed him into my life and it'll be my heart that says goodbye to him now. Jack, you were the one thing in my life that I ever thought would be permanent, because I'm so unstable. You were my rock and even when I did stupid things that should have changed everything, you forgave me and let everything stay the same. But now you're gone... and... and I have no idea what I'm going to do without you. But, like I'm sure you would have told me, I have to move on, I have to get along without you. But no matter where you are and even though you're gone, you're still my rock and I'll still... I'll still... love you." Karen felt the tears fall from her cheeks as she made her way down to her seat. Carter looked solemnly at her and then took up the stage.

"Jack never wrote a will, so all his worldly possessions go to his parents, they can give away his things as they please." Carter said. Mr. Hunter whispered something to his wife and they both nodded.

"We don't want any of his possessions here in Mineral Town, so everyone can just go to his house and take what they want. The farm can be put up for sale if that's alright with Karen?" Mr. Hunter asked. Karen nodded, she didn't want to let Jack's farm be taken over by anyone else, but she didn't want it either.

After the heart breaking ceremony they proceeded to the beach. They marched mournfully through the streets, a black procession of people like a dark cloud drifting across the land, and they stood in a line before the sea. A little wooden boat filled with hay sat on the white sand, Carter handed Karen a torch with a big blazing flame. She took a deep breath then lit the hay, they all pushed the boat out then watched as it sailed to the horizon.

"Goodbye Jack, I still... love you." She whispered as the fiery boat sailed across the sea, burning to a cinder, the smoke rising off like a misty soul into the dark abyss of the sky. They then sang a few hymns, including Jerusalem. They then all went to Jack's house to pick out things they wanted. Karen didn't go, she couldn't watch his house be ripped apart, even if he was gone.

After the funeral it truly hit Karen, like a giant tombstone, Jack really was gone. She would never again hear his voice or his laugh, she'd never see his chocolate brown eyes, never watch his smile, never feel the touch of his skin, never smell his "Jack" smell and never hear him say "I love you". She had never even gotten to tell him she loved him before he had died.

She recalled the phone call with a shudder. She couldn't shake the nagging voice inside her saying "if you'd only told him to come home, if only you hadn't let him stay another month, he might still be here". It kept going through her head as she arrived in her room and her parents weren't yet home. Still it swirled around the vortex of her mind as she reached for the cold blade.

Still she heard herself telling him he could stay as her pain inside was sliced onto her skin. She could still hear him ask "really" again as she watched the rose red blood trickle down her arm and form a puddle on the floor. She could still hear him tell her he loved her as her mother screamed. She heard the silence after she hung the phone up as she fainted and she could hear the beeping down the phone as she lay in the hospital.

When she came to she saw her family and friends looking at her with not only worry and concern, but fear. She felt a sudden guilt, she'd let them down again. She sat up and felt her arms ache. She looked down at the bloody bandages and saw everyone sigh with relief.

"What the hell did you think you were doing Karen? I thought you were smarter than that." Ann shouted and her head swam, she felt like she'd had the worst hangover ever, with just as bad repercussions.

"I'm sorry, did my misery upset you?" She asked sarcastically. Ann glared at her and Popuri whimpered.

"Karen, we're just worried. You could have been really hurt." Popuri whispered timidly.

"I'm already hurt. What does it matter to you what I do to make myself feel better?" Karen asked angrily. Popuri cowered next to Ann as she scowled.

"What, you think cutting yourself is a healthy way of dealing with your pain? Was this for attention? Was it a cry for help? "Oh look at me no one can understand what I'm going through, I'm so depressed"." Ann said in a mocking voice. Karen glared at her fuming.

"Are you done making me feel better?" She asked sarcastically, her voice even and cutting. Popuri began to cry and Sasha and Jeff walked out of the room.

"Oh I'm not trying to make you feel better Karen. I'm telling you to get over it, this isn't going to make the pain go away. I know how you feel, Jack was my friend too. I know that my pain isn't even close to yours, but can you at least understand that we know what you're going through. We know you're suffering but you've got to trust us, the wounds will heal. They'll leave scars, sure, but they won't hurt anymore Karen. Just let us help you bandage the wounds and care for you okay? Because you wouldn't want to make any of us feel the pain you're feeling now, okay?" Ann said.

Karen nodded in defeat and then began to weep uncontrollably, her body shaking. That started Popuri and Ann off crying and they all hugged, holding onto each other as though for dear life. Soon Elli walked in slowly to change Karen's bandages, finding walking steadily harder with her swelling belly, and she ushered Ann and Popuri out.

"How are you feeling Karen?" Elli asked taking off the old bandages, her hands working delicately across her scared skin.

"Words can't describe how I'm feeling." Karen said coldly. Elli flinched, but nodded calmly. She threw the bloody bandages in the bin and unwrapped new ones.

"You don't need to describe it. I know how you feel." Elli said wrapping the new bandages onto Karen's arm.

"Really?" Karen said sounding bored. Elli frowned but nodded, examining Karen's clean white bandages.

"Yes, remember when Ellen died. Trust me, it's the same sense of loss." Elli said.

"Really?" Karen said sounding unconvinced, in the same monotone voice as she had said it before.

"Yes." Elli said with a bitter frown, she then pulled up her sleeves to show a dozen white scars on each arm. Karen gasped.

"Elli I had no idea..." She said completely shocked, Elli was the least likely suspect for something like that. Elli nodded and made a face.

"You're the only one who knows, not even the Doctor, he thinks a cat scratched me. Poor old Nora got the blame." Elli said shaking her head. Karen sighed and smiled at Elli.

"Thanks Elli." Karen said, although it was nice to know she was not the only one who had been through something like this, it didn't ease the pain at all.

"It's no problem Karen. But trust me, it gets easier." She said smiling. She then drew the blue curtains and left Karen alone in her room.

"Does it?" She whispered unsurely, once Elli had left.

The next day Karen was released from hospital and left in the custody of her parents, which was perhaps worse. They kept giving her awkward glances every so often to break the silence that had been there since they greeted her. She could almost hear what was going through their minds though, she could feel their concern and she could see plainly on their faces how they felt. But she kept glancing around, like a scared animal for signs of Jack. She could almost hear him talking to her, telling her how stupid she had been, but that was nonsense, he was dead. She could see him in the corner of her eyes and every time she turned to face him, he wasn't there.

"Jack?" She mumbled, making her parents glance worriedly at each other. Jeff coughed and Sasha wrapped Karen in her arms making her jump.

"Karen, sweetie, Jack's dead." Sasha reminded her hastily. Karen stared wide-eyed at Sasha, as if she didn't know that. But did she, she kept seeing him and hearing him, it was almost like he was there.

Karen stared out of the window in the shop, sitting on a counter. Everyone stared at her when they walked in and continued to stare while they bought their supplies. They all would glance at her arm quickly, to see the extent of the damage. Eventually Manna and Anna walked in together, collecting ingredients for a cake they were making. They spotted Karen and began to whisper, loud enough that she could hear.

"So it's true." Anna whispered staring at her with a smirk on her face.

"Yes, I wonder how it looks behind the bandages..." Manna said, forcing a worried expression. Karen just continued to stare out of the window, trying to ignore them and pretend she couldn't hear.

"Poor dear, she's gone nuts after the loss of that farm boy." Anna whispered shaking her head. _"Shut up, shut up, shut up." _A voice screamed in Karen's head.

"In my opinion he's not worth it, she never should have left Rick. How long do you think it'll be until they wheel her off to the madhouse?" Manna said giggling slightly.

"Not long, but I wonder if she won't join Jack before that." Anna murmured. Manna gasped and stared at Karen harder.

"You don't mean...?" Manna asked, rather louder than she meant to. She then clapped her hand over her mouth and pretended to be picking some spices of a rack.

"I do." Anna said with a nod that invited intrigue. Karen spun round and glared at them.

"Shut up, you evil little... How dare you? You think this is funny, let's see how you would feel if your husbands died shall we? In fact, if you already think I'm off my rocket, why don't I show you exactly how it feels?" Karen spat at them outraged. They looked completely shocked and Anna began to shake uncontrollably. Her strange hair cut shivering like a giant mole. Just then Jeff burst into the room and gave Karen an angry glare then looked apologetically at Ann and Manna.

"I'm so sorry ladies, she didn't mean that..." He said sheepishly. Karen scowled at him and shook her head.

"I meant every word of it dad." She said coldly and with that she ran out of the room. She darted over to Mother's hill to contemplate whether she did in fact mean every word. She sat on top of the mountain and gazed out over the trees below.

"Oh Jack, why did you have to leave?" Karen asked the air in front of her. The wind whistled around her, blowing her long hair in all directions. She heard footsteps behind her and turned around to see Ann.

"Those cows were gossiping about you, weren't they?" Ann said grimacing, the story had already spread across town, at least Ann could guess the truth. Karen nodded and continued to look over to the horizon.

"You might want to try not convincing everyone you're crazy though... just a suggestion." Ann said gently. Karen nodded again, refusing to look Ann in the eyes.

"I know you're in a bad place right now, but just remember we're here for you, kay?" Ann said with a wink. Karen nodded, still not looking at Ann. Ann sighed and turned back down the mountain.

The next day Jack's parents were due to go back home, Karen stood with them at the docks waiting for their boat.

"You know Karen if you ever need anything come to us. You're like a daughter to us now." Mrs. Hunter said smiling. Mr. Hunter nodded in agreement and put down the suitcases to hug Karen.

"If you're ever in America come by and visit us. Jack would have wanted us to keep in touch." Mr. Hunter said letting go of Karen.

"Thank you and take care. I hope we see each other again sometime." Karen said sweetly. Although she really didn't feel like being nice to people, the Hunters were some of the sweetest people she had met and she couldn't be surly with them. They nodded and Mrs. Hunter gave Karen one last hug. The boat arrived and the captain came to take their bags. He tipped his hat at Karen and winked making her smile slightly.

"Goodbye dear." Mrs. Hunter said with a wave.

"Goodbye!" Karen shouted to them on the ship. The ship sailed away once again, like so many ships carrying people she loved had. She sighed and sat down in the sand, every trace of life outside Mineral Town was gone. She heard someone behind her and stood up to see Rick looking sheepish.

"Hey Karen. We were wondering, Mom, Popuri, Kai and me, if you'd like to have dinner with us tonight..." He said nervously. Karen looked blankly at him showing no sign that she had heard.

"I mean it's okay, if you don't want to..." Rick said sounding even more uncomfortable.

"Sure, that'd be nice." Karen said unconvincingly. Rick smiled and nodded but just stood there while she waited for him to go away. After a while he sat down next to her and looked over the horizon.

"I'm sorry Karen. Sorry for everything. I know we haven't been the best of friends for a while now and I miss it. I just want to help you, I'm done being a jerk." He said sounding flustered.

"Mmmm." Karen said softly, closing her eyes and trying to block out his sounds.

"Well anyway, see you tonight." Rick said sounding upset. She then continued to stare blankly over the ocean that had killed Jack.

That evening she headed over to the poultry farm in a pretty dress. She greeted Popuri and Kai with hugs, gave Lillia some chocolates from the store and gave Rick a somewhat awkward hug. They then sat down to dinner and they all talked like before Jack's death, like nothing was wrong. It was nice to forget for an evening, pretend like it was old times, like she and Rick were still close friends and Lillia was still trying to set them up. Finally they settled by the fire recalling "the good old days" as Kai liked to call it.

"Remember when you lost your first tooth Karen and I wanted to be just like you, so I loosened and pulled out one of mine?" Rick said laughing. Karen giggled and helped herself to a chocolate out of the open box.

"I remember when Rick told me there was a monster under my bed that would eat me if I didn't do as he said. I was his slave for an entire day until you told me the truth Karen!" Popuri said, faking a scowl at Rick.

"I remember when we all went for a nature hike up the mountain for church school and Rick slipped and broke his leg." Karen said grinning.

"Oh yeah! He had a cast for weeks!" Kai said snorting with laughter, remembering fondly one of the first summers he had been at mineral town.

"That cast was so itchy, but I was so happy when you guys all signed it." Rick said smiling fondly at the memories.

"That was all such a long time ago, I remember a time when you and Karen said you would get married and be together for ever." Lillia said dreamily. Popuri and Kai laughed but Rick and Karen were silent.

"What went wrong?" Rick asked after a while. Karen looked him in the eyes.

"I did." She said. Everyone then fell silent.

"No, I think it was just time." Rick said truthfully and Karen smiled. They all helped clean up the dishes and Rick offered to walk Karen home, as she wasn't allowed to be left unsupervised.

They walked into the beautiful Spring evening and turned the corner to Karen's house. They arrived outside and then sat on the bench looking at the stars.

"Thanks for this evening Rick, I had a great time. I almost forgot about..." She said, suddenly going silent.

"Thank you for coming Kar, I missed us being friends." Rick said smiling.

"Me too. I think... I think things will be better now." Karen said hopefully.

"I think you're right." Rick said nodding. Rick gave Karen one last hug and watched as she walked towards her door, checking that she was in safely before walking home.

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Well there we go then, toldja it was depressing, trust me things get happier. But you know, things can only get worse in a tragedy...


	11. Wiping the slate clean

Hey guys, sorry about the last depressing chapter, this one is slightly less depressing, i promise. Okay first of all i want to say that, i really don't like Rick. Trust me all the RickxKaren stuff has it's eventual purpose, and i've managed to make him not so bad in this chapter.

I'd also like to thank you guys for reviewing, sorry about the whole Jack killing thing, i could say it was an accident, but would you believe me?

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11. Wiping the slate clean

It was a full year (harvest moon year, remember these are only four months) after Jack's death and Karen was standing watching over Jack's watery grave.

"It's been a year now, as I'm sure you know." She told the waves and they seemed to roar in answer.

"I think I'm going to stop mourning now and move on with my life. As you must know Elli is pregnant, and Gray and Mary are finally an item. Me and Rick are the only ones on our own, we're friends now. I don't think I want more, I don't think I can get over you, but I want to try. So this is it, I'll still visit you, to tell you what's going on, but I won't visit so often. I hope you're okay wherever you are."

"Please don't hate me for moving on, I'll still always miss you." She said feeling tears form in her eyes. The waves continued to roar, answering everything, like a noble sea creature. She held a bunch of red roses in her hand and threw them into the water watching them be engulfed by the clear blue waves. She then turned and headed home.

It was the early hours of the morning and the sun was still lazily making its way up into the sky. The sweet smell of the morning dew wafted into Karen's nostrils. Outside she saw Rick on the bench waiting for her like he had done all those years before.

"Good morning Karen, did you do it?" He asked kindly, bringing her into a hug.

"Yeah, I told him I'm moving on." She told him, sounding relieved.

"How'd he take it?" Rick joked good-naturedly. Karen smiled, something she wouldn't have done only a week before.

"I think he's okay with it. As long as I visit him every so often." She said calmly. She felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders, she was officially out of mourning.

"So what do you want to do for your first free day out of mourning?" Rick asked casually, as though it was something her asked everyday.

"Truthfully I want to curl up under my blankets and cry. But instead... let's have a picnic with everyone." She suggested, a small smile tugging at her lips. Rick thought for a moment and then made a face.

"Everyone meaning "the couples"?" He inquired, eyebrows raised. "The couples" was their name for Popuri and Kai and Ann and Cliff, who spent all of their time together, being well... coupley.

"Yes I suppose so, would you rather invite some of the non-couples?" Karen asked jokingly. Rick shook his head quickly. "The non-couples" meant all the people who had either stayed single or lost their partners, in other words the oldies like Gotz, the Mayor, Barley or Carter.

"Alright then, the couples it is." Rick said with a sigh.

"Right, you can make the picnic then." She told him, grinning playfully.

"Why me?" Rick asked sounding put out, his voice rising higher than a man's voice should. Karen smiled and looked innocent for a moment.

"Oh, would you rather I made the picnic?" She asked innocently, her green eyes wide. Rick shook his head quickly and sighed.

"That's what I thought." She said slyly before heading back home.

They met later outside the lake at the foot of Mother's hill. Karen set out the red and white checked picnic blanket and sat down opening the basket. They all helped themselves to some cheese sandwiches and talked happily.

"A lot has changed in the last year, huh?" Popuri said sweetly, causing a morbid attitude to fall among the friends. Her one harmless sentence had triggered memories of Jack. Realising what she had said she quickly clapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes widening. She took it off again only to mouth sorry at a glaring Ann.

"Yes, but let's look to the future..."Ann said, trying to lighten the mood. Karen simply stared at the picnic blanket until the bright patterns gave her a headache.

"Maybe we should have a picnic another day, it may rain..." Ann said thinking up an excuse.

"The weather's perfect Ann. Don't worry about me, I'm fine, it's time I got over J...J...Ja... him." Karen said swallowing hard. Ann's eyes widened with worry and Popuri began to twiddle her hair nervously.

"You're right Karen, it is time _we _moved on." Rick said with a worrying emphasis on the "we". He looked at Karen the whole time, his eyes questioning. "_what does he mean" _Karen asked herself. Ann and Popuri gazed at her quizzically as though expecting her to answer a question that no one had asked, however Cliff looked absent-mindedly at the sky like nothing was happening.

"Erm... yes, so let's just... enjoy the picnic." Karen said quickly stuffing another sandwich into her mouth. Everyone resumed eating, pretending that nothing had happened. Grey clouds soon appeared in the sky signalling it was time for them to take cover.

"Looks like rain, so much for perfect weather." Cliff said beckoning for them to take shelter under one of the bushes on the hill. The rain began to pour, with giant raindrops the size of golf balls.

"It's raining really hard..." Ann said, dodging a giant drop headed her way. Suddenly lightening zipped across the sky, lighting it up. Popuri jumped and screamed, making everyone else jump with her. Kai wrapped his arms protectively around her and Popuri cooed happily. Cliff edged nervously closer and brought Ann into a tight hug, while Karen and Rick awkwardly watched the raindrops.

"I say we make a run for it." Karen said determinedly. Popuri shook her head wide eyed while Ann assessed the situation.

"No I don't wanna!" Popuri whined, looking at Kai for support.

"Looking at the size of those raindrops, I'd say it'd be a gamble." Ann said edging further back into the bush.

"Water never harmed anyone." Karen pointed out.

"Yeah but think of the lightning, I'd say the storm is right overhead, I wouldn't go out in that." Cliff said wisely as he watched a water droplet trickle down his nose.

"I say we stay here then, who's with me?" Kai said sitting down as a sign of his rebellion. Popuri nodded and sat down delicately on his lap.

"Yeah, let's stay here until it clears up." Ann said, sitting down too. Cliff sat down next to her and nodded.

"Well I'm going anyway, Rick are you coming?" Karen asked, her eyes willing him to obey her.

"Erm... sure okay. I'll come with you." Rick said, glancing back between her and the storm. Karen smiled warmly and waved goodbye to the others. She then dashed out into the storm, water splashing around her. Rick reluctantly followed, getting hit by giant raindrops on the way.

The cool rain dripped down her skin as her clothes saturated completely. The thin shirt Rick was wearing was soaked and it clung to his thin frame. They reached the Goddess pond, and Karen gave up, dashing into the mine for shelter. Rick ducked in with her breathing heavily.

"I'm freezing." She said shivering.

"Me too." Rick said, wiping the steam off his glasses.

"I'm sorry, this is my fault, I hope we don't catch pneumonia." She said worriedly. Rick nodded in agreement and sniffed.

"What do we do now?" He asked. Karen shrugged and sat down on a boulder.

"I guess we wait out the storm." She said. He nodded and took a seat next to her on the boulder. He nervously wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. Karen's heart fluttered as a conflict raged inside her. Although she and Rick were close friends again, she didn't know if she wanted to open up that can of worms again. She still felt guilty after Jack's death, it hadn't been that long.

"Too fast?" He asked nervously removing his arms.

"No." She replied, before she realised what she was saying. Rick grinned and wrapped his arms around her again. They sat there for a while, on the cold boulder, sharing each others limited warmth.

"Karen..." Rick said after a while removing his arms again and turning to face her.

"Hmmm...?" Karen asked softly.

"I'm sorry." He said warmly. Karen looked at him, her eyes wide.

"What for?" She asked. Rick laughed nervously and looked at the muddy floor.

"Everything. I've been... a terrible person. Since we broke up... I don't know who I've been, not the Rick you used to know that's for sure. I've done terrible things to you for the last few years and I'm so sorry. Now here I am, thinking I have the right to hug you again, like nothing's changed. I'm so sorry." Rick said.

Karen saw water drip from his eyes, wondering whether it was just the rain or actual tears. She had no idea what to say, what Rick had said was true. He'd ruined her life for the last few years and yet, the Rick she'd known for the last year and all those years before was different. She had loved that Rick and he'd only changed when she had dumped him for Jack. Jack being gone had changed him for the better and now Jack was gone forever. Karen leaned close to Rick and kissed him gently on the lips, they were warm on hers. Rick was shocked and Karen felt his heart beat faster in his chest. After a while Karen looked Rick in the eyes again, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, I... can't... Jack." She said bursting into tears. She stood up suddenly and dashed into the rain, leaving a shocked Rick sitting in the mine.

She headed to the sea, forgetting about the rain beating hard against her and the thunder roaring at her. She stood on the beach and looked out over the sea. A thin mist was floating above the sea, like a giant white ghost. Karen's face was sore from the cold and she felt the rain sting her harder like angry wasps.

"I'm sorry Jack." She screamed into the sea. "You hear me, I'm sorry." The oceans roared harder, crashing against the sand. The thunder and the sea roared together at her, as though teaming up to punish her. She collapsed on the beach crying into the white sand.

"Please Jack forgive me..." She whispered, her throat sore and her voice hoarse from screaming.

"Forgive me..."She whispered, falling into a deep trance. A fog was around her and everything was warm and fuzzy, she was where the storm couldn't hurt her anymore. There she saw Jack, standing in front of her, alive and healthy.

"Jack, you're not dead, you're alive!" She exclaimed running over to him. But he didn't get any nearer.

"I'm sorry Jack." She shouted at him, but he just stared serenely at her.

"Karen I'm dead. Don't apologise, forget me, I'm gone." He said smoothly, his voice echoed angelically, he was glowing his face lit like a golden sun.

"No, don't leave me please." She screamed at him, running towards him again.

"Karen, you're asleep, wake up. Please wake up. Karen, please." Jack said, but his voice had begun to sound like Ann's. Karen blinked and he was gone, she was lying in the hospital bed. Ann was standing over her begging her to wake up.

"Jack?" Karen said weakly, her eyes searched the room for him.

"Jack's dead Karen." Ann reminded her worriedly. Karen sighed and relaxed her head on the soft white pillow.

"He's really gone." She agreed, looking at Ann. Ann nodded and gave Karen a hug.

"You fainted on the beach and Rick found you. He even carried you to the hospital, who knew he had that kind of strength..." Ann said laughing. Karen smiled weakly, and made a gesture showing she wanted water. Ann nodded and retrieved a glass of water for her. She then handed it to Karen and watched as she gulped it down gratefully.

"Popuri went out to get us tea, we've been with you all night." Ann said smiling.

"How many times has Jack indirectly put me in hospital now?" Karen joked, putting the glass on the drawer next to her.

"Only two surprisingly, though it seems like more." Ann said seriously. "So Rick told us what happened..."

"Really?" Karen said raising her eyebrows and Ann nodded. "I still miss him you know."

"I know." Ann said sympathetically. "So what happened with you and Rick?" She asked, trying hard not to sound gloating.

"Erm... didn't he tell you? I would have thought, being Rick, he would have." Karen said coldly. Ann's eyes widened and she shook her head slowly, showing she had no idea.

"He really is changing then. Well we were in the mine getting out of the rain and he... wrapped his arms around me. Then he asked if it was too soon, so I said no, without thinking really. I don't know what came over me, I just... didn't think. So then he apologised for everything and went on about how he had been a jerk. He was a jerk, he was the jerkiest jerk in all of jerktown and I... arghhh." Karen explained her face reddening with anger.

"Well anyway, I said things are different now and so... I...I...I kissed him, okay? It was dumb I know and feel terrible about it, I can't believe I did that to Jack!" She said sounding hysterical. Ann took a deep breath and sat down on Karen's bed.

"Karen, Jack is dead. So you might as well move on and Rick has changed. Everyone else has a boyfriend so, unless you want to live alone with twenty cats, you should give Rick a chance. Try being like you were, I know he'll never quite replace Jack, but at least you won't die alone..." Ann said, trying her best to cheer Karen up. By Karen's face she could tell she was not impressed, Ann sighed and looked hopefully at the doorway, waiting for Popuri.

"Where is Poe with that tea...?" Ann said awkwardly and Karen shrugged. Right on cue Popuri pushed through the far too white swing doors with two cups of tea in her hand.

"Sorry, I could only carry two so I didn't bring one for Karen, do you think she'll mind... oh Karen, you're awake! That's great... you can have my tea!" Popuri said quickly, sounding like a mouse on caffeine.

"Poe, what have you been drinking?" Ann asked worriedly.

"Coffee, lots and lots of coffee. I wanted to stay awake so when Karen woke up from being all...like crazy so I drank lots of coffee. So now I feel kinda funny, but good funny. But enough about me, what happened with you and Rick, Karen? He seemed happy, did you kiss? You did, didn't you? Cool, you guys are gonna get married and then we'll be sisters-in-law!" Popuri said, not even stopping to take a breath. Ann and Karen sat with their mouths wide open staring astounded at Popuri.

"Popuri..." Ann began looking worried,

"Yeah?" Popuri asked with a scarily big smile on her face.

"Lay off the caffeine." Ann said. Popuri pouted and groaned when Ann went off to talk to her and tell her what happened with Karen and Rick, while Karen got rid of the headache Popuri had so kindly given her. When they returned Popuri looked even more excited and Ann looked incredibly frustrated. Ann looked at her watch quickly and sighed.

"It's two in the morning. Karen, do you want us to leave you to get some sleep?" Ann said kindly. Karen could tell that the part she had missed out purposely was "so we can get some sleep too".

"Yeah alright." Karen said with a nod, even though she wanted to protest that she'd been knocked out and had already slept enough.

"Oh, but I wanted to stay!" Popuri whined her puppy-dog eyes shining. Ann hastily dragged Popuri out of the room and waved goodbye to Karen. All Karen could hear after that was the distant voice of Popuri shouting "bye Karen"! Karen relaxed her head on her marshmallow soft pillow.

Her head was buzzing with the many thoughts that were in her mind, mainly the Rick and Jack situation. But there was still the fact nagging in her brain that Jack was in fact dead. She looked around the room, listening to the whirring of the hospital equipment and wondering how Elli and the doctor could sleep living above all the machinery. Karen closer her eyes, trying to empty her mind of all thought and concentrating on getting some rest.

She felt like she could never sleep again, so much had happened and every trouble in her life had been caused by the one thing that had ever truly been good in it, Jack. Soon the room began to blur and she slipped into her dreams, where Jack would dwell for the entire night.

She was woken in the morning by the sounds of her parents bursting through the milk white swing doors of the hospital. Her mother nudged Karen awake and stroked her forehead gently. Annoyance bubbled up in Karen, here where some of the last people she wanted to see waking her up.

"Morning sweetie, how did you sleep?" Sasha asked fluffing her pillows delicately.

"Great, I was unconscious." Karen said sarcastically. Jeff timidly gave her a hug and handed her a croissant they had freshly bought from the inn. Sasha seemed unfazed by Karen's rude comment and continued fluffing her pillows.

"Sweetie, you know I meant after you were unconscious." Sasha said her teeth gritted.

"Fine." Karen said casually, munching at her croissant.

"Well how are you feeling now?" Sasha asked taking a seat at the end of Karen's bed and making it sink uncomfortably low.

"Great, my head hurts, I was woken up when I really needed my rest and now my legs are falling asleep because you're sitting on them!" Karen yelled. Sasha stood up quickly looking shocked.

"Well you obviously need your sleep. We'll come back later." Sasha said quickly looking at Jeff in horror.

"Don't bother." Karen murmured. Sasha scowled and stormed out of the hospital followed quickly by Jeff, leaving Karen with a fulfilled feeling in her gut. A few minutes later Rick walked in looking rather worried.

"Hey Karen, you're Mom and dad looked upset, is everything alright?" Rick asked glancing at the doorway as if formulating an escape plan.

"Yes, why wouldn't it be?" Karen said casually looking at the wall.

"Erm... well no reason I guess. I came to make sure you were alright and you look okay... I mean great... I mean beautiful. That is to say you look sick... but not bad sick... I mean you always look good... at least to me." Rick finished looking at Karen hopefully. Karen just stared at him wide-eyed watching Rick sweat with satisfaction.

"I'm fine." She said shortly. She then looked at Rick expectantly waiting for him to go. But she knew he wouldn't. Being Rick, she knew he couldn't resist asking the question that he'd come to ask, all she had to do was wait.

"Erm... about last night..." Rick began scratching his head in panic. Karen raised her eyebrows dangerously, just what she'd been expecting.

"What about last night?" She asked sounding innocent. She watched Rick's every move analysing his body language and his expression. She could tell he was worried, he had no idea what to say next. She watched him swallow, "this should be too easy" she thought.

"You kissed me, remember. You said you forgave me. I don't know what that means for us, or if it means anything. So just tell me what you want, do you want to be friends or more?" Rick asked sounding calm.

Karen could tell how many times he had practised his little speech in front of his bedroom mirror. But she was impressed, almost amazed, Rick almost sounded like he knew what he was saying. For once she had no idea what to say back to him, she couldn't tell from his body language what he was thinking.

"Well... I don't know. I'm still not over Jack and his death... I don't know if I'm ready to move on." She said, she had decided to be honest with him.

"I know it's hard for you and I know it still hurts. But I only want to support you in... recovering, whether that means as your friend... or more." Rick said taking a deep breath. She was very impressed, he had anticipated what she would say and had already practiced a speech. She wondered how he'd found time to practice so thoroughly, but judging from the bags under his eyes she decided he had pulled an all-nighter.

"I don't know..." Karen said unsurely. Rick nodded and looked at the floor for a moment.

"Could we maybe give it a try? A try is all I'm asking for, just one date and we'll see how it goes, would that be okay?" He asked hopefully. She thought for a moment biting her lip.

"Okay, one date." She said after a while. Rick grinned from ear to ear, she could tell he was holding back a cheer. Instead he calmly nodded and exited the hospital, leaving Karen smiling.

Later that day Karen was released from hospital with a warning to take better care of herself. After that she headed over to the inn to explain what was happening with her and Rick. She found them sitting at one of the tables drinking hot chocolate. They smiled and greeted her with a huge hug, before offering her a large mug of creamy hot chocolate.

"I'm weaning Popuri off Coffee." Ann said pouring a shaking Popuri another mug of hot chocolate.

"Yeah, I had so much last night and a bit this morning. Fine quite a lot this morning, but I can stop any time, I swear." Popuri said, her hand shaking violently.

"You do know caffeine is a drug right?" Karen asked sipping her hot chocolate casually.

"What?" Popuri asked sounding shocked. Being a good girl the idea of taking drugs was awful to Popuri and the fact that she was addicted worse.

"It's not illegal though so don't worry. Just don't drink too much okay, try to just have one cup in the morning okay. You're young, you don't need coffee." Karen said knowledgably.

"She's right Poe. So anyway, would anyone like anything else?" Ann asked standing up. Karen and Popuri shook their heads and drained their mugs of hot chocolate quickly. Ann standing up was a sign that she wanted their mugs to clean, she adored cleaning.

"So where and when are ya gonna have the date?" Ann asked washing up the cups lovingly.

"I don't know, it's all up to Rick." Karen said with a shrug. Ann nodded and put the cups back where they belonged.

"Wouldn't you rather help pick? So even if it's a drag with Rick you can still enjoy where you actually go." Ann asked.

"And how many exciting places do you know here, ones that wouldn't be a drag if Rick's dull?" Karen asked. Ann looked at the floor in silence.

"Exactly." She said smugly, smiling that she had won.

"Well I think you should let Rick decide. So you can see how much he's willing to treat you and how much he thinks about what you would like." Popuri said twiddling a strand of her bright pink hair.

"That's a great idea Poe!" Karen said making Popuri blush and giggle, it was not often someone complemented Popuri's ideas.

"So it's decided I'll let him decide where we go and as for where... I'd say the 25th is a good day, it's after all the major spring festivals." Karen said. Popuri and Ann nodded in approval.

"So... what are you guys going to do now?" Ann asked boredly. Karen shrugged and Popuri continued twiddling her hair.

"We've got nothing _to _do." Karen said and Popuri nodded in agreement.

"Huh. Well that's odd." Ann said shrugging.

"Yeah." Popuri said. So for the next hour they sat discussing what they could do and each rejecting ideas.

"It's like old times, not a lot going on." Ann said smiling. Karen chuckled and Popuri giggled softly.

"It's true, a lot's gone on this past year, it all got so much more interesting when Jack came." Popuri said.

"And more confusing." Karen added. They sighed and lay on the oak table.

"We should work at our jobs harder." Popuri said. Karen and Ann looked at Popuri strangely.

"Poe, do you even _have _a job?" Karen asked curiously.

"Yeah." Popuri said looking at Ann to back her up but she shrugged.

"What do you do?" Ann inquired.

"Erm... well I used to help with the chickens at the poultry farm. Now I'm a professional housewife!" Popuri exclaimed happily, making Ann and Karen sigh.

"I'm... gonna go now." Karen said edging away from Popuri.

"I wish I could." Ann said sadly and she dashed up the stairs. They went, leaving Popuri alone, wondering why everyone had gone.


	12. The Date

Hey guys! First off i want to say thanks to all you guys who reviewed. I'm really sorry about the whole RickxKaren thing, really i hate Rick. I would loooove to do a KarenxGray thing, cos he is so, so sweet. But trust me the RickxKaren thing will not end well, i won't give away the ending but i'm not planning on it lasting, which is why i'm not doing KarenxGray. So pleeeaaase just bear with me!

Thanks alot guys!

* * *

12. The date

The day of the date arrived and Karen hurried to get ready, putting on makeup and throwing on whatever she could find. Finally she gazed at herself in the mirror "_perfect" _she thought "_too perfect for Rick"_. She chuckled to herself at her own joke, checking to make sure no one was watching. Soon she heard a knock on the door and her mother ran upstairs excitedly to tell her Rick had arrived. Karen could tell that her mother was incredibly happy that she was dating Rick again. Somehow she had never quite approved of Jack, but she had always loved Rick.

"Karen! Rick's here! Oh he looks so handsome!" Sasha said in a high melodic voice. Karen forced a smile and tucked her hair behind her ears nervously. She then walked gracefully down the stairs in her black high-heeled boots and her rather short black skirt. She spotted Rick waiting at the door with a big grin on his face, she was shocked to find he was wearing different clothes from his usual chicken farmer ones. She didn't even knowhe _owned_ other clothes. He was wearing a white shirt and black trousers and Karen had to admit he looked half-decent that evening. He was carrying a giant bunch of red roses mixed with a few beautiful black ones. She smiled and accepted the roses happily.

"I'll just get a vase for these and we'll get going." She said sweetly and hurried to the kitchen. She found a clean glass vase and tenderly placed the roses in it, stroking the petals delicately. She poured in some fresh water from the tap and then hurried back to Rick.

"Are you ready?" He asked offering her his arm. Karen nodded and linked her arm around his. They then strolled out of the door.

"So where are we headed first?" Karen asked, breathing in the fresh evening air. It was dark and the stars twinkled brightly, the moon was just a slit in the sky but glowed brilliantly nonetheless.

"I was thinking first we would have dinner at the inn. Then we can have a stroll up Mother's hill and look at the stars from there, then we can head on over to the beach." He said happily and Karen nodded. They arrived at the inn and Ann served them with a huge smirk on her face which Karen tried to ignore. They sat at the table and Ann handed them menus.

"Good evening, would you like any drinks?" Ann said, emphasising the word drinks to hint that they should buy wine.

"Just a pineapple juice for me thanks." Karen said calmly, giving Ann a smug look. Ann scowled and looked at Rick who thankfully had missed them both making faces.

"Yeah, erm... I'll have a grape juice please." He said. Ann frowned but hurried to get their drinks returning moments later. Then they ordered the food, just a basic meal of burgers and chips. Ann kept trying to make them have a fancy dinner, hinting all the time but Rick just kept it casual.

Karen was glad he hadn't overdone things like she knew Jack would have, somehow she didn't like being spoilt too much. After dinner that sat talking in the peace of the inn, about life and general goings on. She was amazed that Rick didn't mention chickens even once. Suddenly though, the door burst open and the evening rush came pouring in. All the regular alcoholics filed in and took their regular seats. Rick and Karen frowned at each other, showing that neither considered this the ideal situation.

Ann gazed at them sympathetically and then hurried to serve the other customers. Soon most of the others were drunk and some had become rowdy. Duke began arguing with Doug slurring his words in his drunkenness.

"Shut up old man, why should I pay for your beer, it was lousy. My wine is better!" He slurred aiming a punch at Doug's face. Doug moved his head slightly and Duke missed.

"Duke, you've had enough okay, go home. I'm sure Manna will be glad if you actually turn up tonight." Doug said calmly wrenching a glass out of Duke's hand.

"I'll tell you when I've had enough. Shut up about my wife, just 'cos yours is dead!" Duke said loudly. The inn went silent. Even the drunks knew when Duke had said too much. Rick stood up and walked towards the bar, glancing at Karen to make sure she was watching.

"Duke! That was a cheap shot. Get out of here!" Rick shouted, standing up to a man at least three times his size. Duke loomed over Rick and eyed him angrily.

"Shuddup chicken boy, before I punch your chicken lovin' face in, you got that?" Duke said angrily. Rick glanced at Karen then stood up taller, puffing out his scrawny chest.

"No, get out and go home. You're ruining everyone's evening. You're just a freeloading drunk, get out!" Rick said angrily. Duke's eyes widened in rage and he glared at Rick.

"HOW DARE YOU BOY!" He yelled, spitting in Rick's face. Rick took off his glasses and wiped the spit off them before perching them back on his nose.

"Duke, just get out!" Rick said again, but slightly more timidly. Duke suddenly grabbed a glass bottle and banged it on the counter, making the end fall of and glassy spikes remain. Rick gulped but stood still watching as Duke held the bottle. In one swipe Duke slashed the bottle along Rick's face and Karen cringed as she heard Rick scream. Red blood poured from his face as Karen ran to him. Doug grabbed Duke and shoved him roughly out of the inn, wiping his hand on his shirt in disgust.

"Oh my God, Rick! Are you okay? Why did you stand up to him, that was so stupid!" Karen said angrily. She quickly helped him out of the inn and headed to the hospital.

"I know it was dumb... I just..." Rick began.

"I know." Karen said kindly and Rick smiled, looking terrifying with the blood on his face. They reached the hospital and watched as the doctor gasped at Rick's face. He sat down on a bed as the doctor checked him for infections and how deep the wound was.

"It's not infected... not that deep. I'd say you got off lucky, you won't even have to have stitches. We'll just sort you out, then you go home and get some rest. The pills for the pain I'm going to prescribe you will make you drowsy." The doctor said cleaning off the blood and adding bandages.

"I'm sorry Karen... this isn't how I meant the date to be you know." Rick said apologetically.

"Really? I thought you meant to get into a fight with a drunk and get your face slashed open." Karen said sarcastically. She then looked at him sympathetically and smiled. The doctor chuckled and sprayed on some disinfectant, he then handed Rick a bottle of pills.

"Take these twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. They will make you drowsy so don't operate heavy machinery and you should be fine." The doctor said.

"What heavy machinery am I going to operate here?" Rick asked.

"It means don't use your Mom's sowing machine." Karen said laughing. Rick scowled.

"Or save your chainsaw massacre for later in the year." The doctor said with a chuckle. Karen laughed and Rick made a sad face.

"Okay you can go now, I'm afraid you'll have to schedule your date for another night." The doctor said with a yawn. He then shoved them out of his hospital and hurried up to bed.

"I don't suppose you'll want to go on another date with me..." Rick said sadly, kicking a stone on the path.

"Oh I dunno, this was pretty fun. Besides I said one date and I'll see. This really only counts as half a date, so if you like you can take me out on another half." She told him smiling.

"Really? Thanks! Next time I won't mess things up okay." Rick said happily, doing a little jig on the spot.

"I would say yes... but after that jig..." Karen said hesitantly. Rick looked at her shocked making Karen laugh.

"I'm kidding." She reassured him. He heaved a sigh of relief and began to jig again.

"You know my pills won't make me sleep for another hour, do you want to quickly go to the beach?" Rick asked, looking in the beach's direction.

"I think that would make the date count as a whole one though..." She said hesitantly.

"I don't care, I'd rather one whole one than two halves." He told her honestly.

"Okay then, let's go." She said skipping off towards the beach. Rick followed her grinning stupidly. They reached the beach and Karen skipped upon the white sand. The stars were shining brightly against the bright sky, as they had for the whole evening. She ran over and sat on the dock, looking out over the ocean. For once she wasn't thinking of Jack as she looked over the vast expanse of water, she was thinking of Rick.

He had changed and finally she could see them together. It had been a disaster date, but it had been a fun disaster and had turned out better than she could have imagined. Rick sat down next to her and looked out with her.

"Are you thinking about Jack?" He asked calmly. It was with empathy rather than jealousy, like he understood exactly what she was going through.

"No, for once, I'm not." She said honestly, turning to look at him. Rick continued to look out to sea, and she could see worry in his eyes.

"I know what it's like... to have someone you care for deeply go away." He said serenely.

"You do?" Karen asked furrowing her brow, trying to think who Rick was talking about.

"Yeah, my dad. He hasn't written in a long time, I don't know if he's still alive even. He hasn't sent us a letter in ages. Mom's health has been deteriorating because of it, she worries about him every day. She and Popuri are still hopeful, but I'm almost sure he's dead." Rick said sadly. She looked at him in sympathy. She had never realised it was the same, Popuri and Rick had been suffering all that time, they were as good as fatherless.

"I'm so sorry." She said, unable to think of any advice she could give.

"Don't be. You know what it's like to lose a loved one too. But you get over it. My Dad's been gone for so long... I got over it years ago. We were close, it was nice having a dad." Rick said, obviously thinking back to the happy times.

"Do you ever wonder... that if you hadn't let him go, if you'd told him to stay, things might have been different?" She asked, thinking back to the time when she'd had the chance to make Jack stay.

"I used to. But then you begin to realise, that your choices affect everyone around you and if you always dwell on whether your choices were right or wrong, you may forget to think about the choices you have to make now. Every day you have choices and right or wrong you deal with them." Rick said. She gazed at him in awe, it was like a strange wise being had descended upon Rick and given him worldly wisdom.

"You're right." She said smiling.

"Like now, you have the choice to make. Do you want to wipe the slate clean and start all over again, or do you want to make a different choice and see where that path takes you?" He asked, the wise being still talking for him.

"You've grown up a lot in the last few years." She said, dodging the question. Rick smiled and looked at her questioningly.

"I don't know. But I would like another date." She said honestly.

"Same here." Rick said and Karen smiled. He then reached for her hand and grasped it tightly. Looking into Rick's eyes she almost felt calm, she could see the same hurt in his eyes, the same feelings of betrayal and hopelessness and just knowing that she wasn't the only person to feel that way helped.

It had never crossed her mind how Rick must have been feeling for all those years. He must have felt so lost and alone, with his father gone and his mother and sister still believing he would come back. But worst of all she hadn't been there to help him, to listen to his problems and give him advice. She had been selfish and dumped him just because a better catch came along and that made her feel so guilty. Yet she had been the one to make Rick apologise to her, she had felt angry at the things he had done to her. But she had started the feud. She had started everything, she had ruined Rick's life and her own. If she had only picked Rick, then Jack might have still been alive.

They spent the entire night there, both just thinking about their separate thoughts. After a while Rick spoke again.

"Karen, when would you like that date?" He asked, letting go of her hand. She analysed a calendar in her head and found her life to be pretty much empty. She smiled and tapped her nose secretly.

"Plans always seem to turn out a disaster, why don't I just come and find you whenever?" She said with a shrug. Rick smiled, the idea seemed quite charming.

Eventually Karen stood up and did a cat-like stretch, Rick stood up too and looked out over the horizon.

"It's almost morning." He said croakily. "I've got to get up and feed the chickens in an hour."

"My parents are gonna wonder where I am! I've got to go!" She said panicking. She gave Rick a quick peck on the cheek and headed home. She opened the door slowly, to stop it creaking and then she crept up the stairs. She arrived at her bedroom door safely and breathed a sigh of relief. She slowly opened the door and yelped in shock as she spotted Sasha waiting on her bed. The gossip wheels never stopped.

"What time do you call this?" Sasha demanded. Karen slowly looked at her watch and glared back stubbornly.

"About 4:30 in the morning... wait... oh now its 4:32." She said cheekily. Sasha gave Karen a steely glare, making her knees weaken with fear. She hastily collapsed on a chair opposite the bed.

"And where have you been?" Sasha asked standing up and beginning to pace around the room.

"At the beach with Rick." She said coolly. Sasha paced faster, grinding her teeth in anger.

"And what were you doing there?" Sasha asked angrily. Karen rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Not him, if that's what you're asking." She retorted. Sasha fumed, she was not getting the answers she needed to make for good gossip.

"What were you doing then? Fishing?" Sasha demanded sarcastically.

"Um... it's called talking, much like we're doing now except without the raised voices. You know it is possible for two people to just talk." She replied sardonically, rolling her eyes again.

"How dare you take that tone with me!" Sasha shouted. Karen sighed and shifted to her bed.

"Mom, I haven't slept all night, I'm tired. I just want to go to bed, okay?" She said boredly. She then curled up on her bed and began to drift off. Sasha growled and then stormed out of the room muttering to herself something along the lines of "no good brat".

The next morning Karen shook herself awake and hurried to her bedroom window. She pushed aside the dull black and white curtains and stared out over the street. A hint of summer was in the air, as there were only five days left of spring. She yawned and then hastened to the bathroom to get dressed.

Half an hour later she headed out of the house, slamming the door hard on her way out. She smirked to herself, if that didn't get her mothers attention nothing would. She skipped down the street and over to the poultry farm to meet Rick. She had finally made her decision, she would ask Rick for another date and then she could move on with her life. The wound that Jack had left didn't hurt nearly so much anymore, it was still painful, but she could ignore it.

As she arrived at the poultry farm she spotted Rick feeding to his chickens and she smiled. Rick's chickens were some of the fattest around because Rick cherished them like they were children. He wouldn't let any harm come to them and was always talking about how wonderful they were. Karen could never help wondering how delicious it would be to sink her jaws into their succulent fatness. But she always had to push that thought aside, although it was hard.

She watched Rick for a few moments, he was talking to the chickens whilst feeding them, crooning at them and telling them "you are so cute, yes you are". Before Karen would have laughed at a spectacle like this, however now she liked Rick again, she found it embarrassingly cute. She sighed, love does crazy things to people. But was it love? Could she love the same Rick that had caused her so much pain just a few years before? Smiling she walked over to him and coughed loudly to announce her presence. Rick jumped and stood up straight, banging his head on the chicken coop roof.

"Ouch!" He said rubbing his head. "Oh good morning Karen, how did you sleep?"

"I slept alright thanks, sorry about startling you. I just came to thank you for last night." She said innocently, but laughing inside her head at Rick banging his head on the chicken coop.

"Last night, it was a total disaster. But it was fun anyway." He said grinning broadly. "Would you like to come in for some breakfast?"

He gestured towards the house calmly and began to walk towards the door. Karen nodded and followed. Inside it smelt delicious, like a mixture of potpourri and eggs cooking. Karen breathed in the fresh scent that always seemed to be in the Iris household. Lillia was standing at the stove cooking eggs for her sons arrival, smiling and humming a jolly tune at the same time. She spotted Karen and smiled, grabbing another egg to cook for her.

Karen grinned at the mother's intuition it had taken to realise she would need more eggs, Sasha had never been as good at it. But Lillia had always been a better mother than Sasha. Even though she was perfectly healthy and with a husband to help out she was still not as good a mother as Lillia. Lillia had managed to be a great Mom even with her husband abroad, perhaps never to return, and her illness that the doctor couldn't cure. But Lillia was just one of those amazing people.

Lillia gestured to the table and Karen gratefully sat down, Lillia then placed a plate of scrambled eggs on toast in front of her. She then sat down next to her smiling happily.

"It's lovely to have you join us for breakfast Karen, I don't see you as much now that Popuri's moved out." Lillia said, delicately spooning some egg into her mouth.

"Well thank you so much for having me here and giving me breakfast, it's delicious." Karen said gratefully taking a bite.

"Yes, it womderfal foo haf oo." Rick said his mouth full of scrambled eggs.

"Manners Rick." Lillia said laughing. He swallowed quickly and apologised, wiping his mouth on a serviette. Lillia ignored him and turned to Karen, her blue eyes shining with sadness.

"How are you at the moment Karen dear?" Lillia asked, sounding concerned. Karen knew this wasn't just a casual, "how are you" this was a "are you over the horror of having your boyfriend die"? Karen swallowed and looked at Rick desperate for a way out. Rick however took the hint the wrong way and mentioned something about errand to run. So she was left unable to avoid the question, unable to run or to hide. So she took a deep breath and looked up at Lillia again.

"Well I'm getting over it." She reassured her. "But to be honest it still hurts."

Lillia looked at her understandingly, tears shining in her eyes. Karen gulped, this was going to become a chat where both of them cried about their loss.

"I know how you feel Karen, you know about my husband... but at least he's coming back." She said laughing nervously. Karen frowned, she could tell Lillia was getting uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry I don't mean it like that... I just meant... well I'm sorry for your loss... and if you ever want to talk..." She said nervously.

"Uh-huh." Karen said with a nod. She breathed a sigh of relief, Lillia had just given her a get-out-of-jail-free card. "Thanks a lot Lillia, I'd better go. I'll come by and talk another time."

Lillia nodded and sighed gratefully, she wanted that awkward conversation no more than Karen did. She waved goodbye and then headed out the door, smiling at her fortune.

The last few days of spring Karen and Rick spent talking, getting to know each other again, like they had before. They both had a new appreciation and understanding of each other which made them hope that this time their relationship would laugh. Their relationship was moving fast though, already they were closer than close and felt a spiritual bond forming between them. Karen was sitting in the bar talking with Ann and Popuri as she did every morning before she went to see Rick. Popuri was gulping down her second orange juice and Ann was drinking a large mug of coffee, while Karen was made content with herbal tea.

"Isn't it nice to have met your soul mate?" Popuri marvelled, her eyes glistening with joy to think of Kai.

"I don't know if I believe in that crap... what do you think Karen?" Ann asked taking a gulp of coffee and slamming the mug down hard on the table.

"I'm not sure... see I always thought Jack was my soul mate, but now he's dead and I have Rick, I'm not sure." She said casually. She laughed when she saw her friends faces, there was nothing like mentioning Jack in a sentence to make them panic. "Guys chill."

"Sorry but I don't believe in it." Ann said coolly. "I don't believe Cliff is my soul mate, we just get along well."

"God Ann, you're so unromantic. Isn't it nice to think you have some kind of spiritual bond with your boyfriend?" Popuri asked dreamily.

"Nope." Ann said casually shrugging. Popuri made a face like she had bitten into a particularly sour lemon and turned to Karen.

"Come on Karen, don't you feel like you and Rick are on the same wavelength all the time and you could never be truly happy with anyone else?" Popuri asked hopefully. Karen thought for a minute and then shook her head.

"Nope. The only guy I felt like that with was Jack, and he's 6 feet below sea level about now." She said, taking huge satisfaction in seeing her friends cringe, and trying to ignore the twinge of pain she felt.

"Well anyway, soul mates don't exist. I don't want to believe that I have to find my soul mate or I'll never be truly happy, otherwise none of my relationships would last..." Ann started.

"Relationship." Karen corrected her with a grin.

"I may have more in the future... anyway what I'm saying is that I think there are guys you get along with and those that you don't. None of you are meant to be." Ann finished, looking smugly at Popuri.

"What ever." Popuri said pouting. At that moment the guys walked in and Ann smiled.

"Speak of the devil." She said grinning. Cliff smiled back and walked over to give her a big hug. Kai hugged Popuri tightly and gave her a long kiss on the lips, and Rick hugged Karen too.

"Aww look at us, one big happy family." Karen said laughing. Kai smiled and the other guys shuffled their feet awkwardly.

"Well anyway, I've gotta go. I'll see you later Rick." Karen said smiling and heading out of the door. When she left Rick smiled and brought a silky blue feather out of his pocket.

"Oh Rick it's beautiful, are you gonna propose to Karen with it?" Popuri asked happily.

"No I'm going to propose to Barley with it, what do you think Poe?" Rick asked sarcastically.

"Are you sure that's a good...? God Rick you're so mean." Popuri said pouting. Ann smiled and looked rather jealously at the blue feather.

"So when are you thinking of proposing?" Ann asked eying the feather longingly. Rick smiled proudly at it and gently ran his hand down it. He then looked at them, his eyes bright and shining, he raised his hand to his nose and tapped it gently. Popuri growled angrily and looked at Kai for support. Kai shrugged, he'd really rather not get into a fight with Rick. Rick gently tucked the feather back into his shirt pocket, gently patting it closed.

"I must be the luckiest guy on earth." He declared before skipping out of the inn. The others looked at each other and smiled, Popuri and Kai were fondly recalling in their heads the day he had proposed. Ann shifted her feet awkwardly wondering when, if ever, Cliff would propose. She sighed, she knew better than to pressure him, guys don't respond too well to pressure.

"How about lunch?" She suggested, before heading into the kitchen to make them some sandwiches.

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Eeeek, Rick proposing, that's gotta be a lot of girl's worst nightmares! 


	13. Wish Upon a Star

Hey guys again, welcome to yet another chapter. I really want to thank you guys for reviewing:

DoubleKK: I'd be really interested to know what you think will happen next, but i guess if i told you it wouldn't be a surprise if you're wrong. But I'm thinking of adding a tiny bit of KarenxGray in here... really tiny though.

Kumiko Katawa/ Lexy499: Yeah, i have no idea who would want to marry Rick... crazy chicken lady perhaps? Well i'm trying to make him at least decent for now, but even if i made him nice and charming... well he'd still look like Rick, and be a chicken farmer. Sorry about any grammar mistakes, i'm english so... blame our schools...

Orochi Chris CYS: Well Popuri can be... unpredictable... and a little ditzy.

So yeah, thanks again for reviewing big cheesy grin.

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13. Wish upon a star

The summer had passed quickly, far too quickly in Karen's opinion. Nothing seemed to have happened, the festivals had gone back to normal and everything was as it had been before Jack had come. Karen was drooped over a deckchair on the beach, soaking up the final rays of sun before the cold winter came. She heard footsteps coming towards her and she opened one eye lazily. She saw Popuri and Ann running towards her excitedly. They stopped suddenly right in front of the chair, accidentally kicking some sand into Karen's eye. She blinked violently, forcing the pain out of her eyes.

"Do you mind?" She asked irritably. "You're blocking my sun."

"Karen!" Ann exclaimed angrily, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her to her feet. Popuri and Ann then began hastily dragging her away from the beach.

"What's up guys?" Karen asked trying her hardest to resist Ann's scarily man-like strength.

"Great news, come on!" Popuri squealed, forcing sandals onto Karen's feet.

"What is it?" Karen asked allowing herself to be dragged along the streets of mineral town.

"Hurry up!" Ann said angrily, shoving Karen forward.

"Well it might help if I knew where we were going... and since when did you get hulk-like strength?" She demanded rubbing her arm where Ann had grabbed her.

"To the hospital!" Ann shouted running ahead. Karen furrowed her brow and shrugged, following Ann quickly.

When she arrived at the hospital she found Elli lying in the tranquillity of the hospital ward, carrying a tiny bundle in her arms. She looked down lovingly into the bundle, her brown eyes seemed to promise a lifetime of safety and happiness. Karen cocked her head and watched as Popuri squealed with delight.

"You guys are the last." Elli said softy, although she sounded quite relieved. Karen stepped cautiously closer to look at the tiny thing Elli had in her arms.

"Do you want to say hello?" Elli asked, pulling the blue cloth from around the bundles face and revealing a beautiful, healthy baby. The baby looked at her with giant blue eyes, in them were innocence, kindness and purity that came only from not having seen all the horrible things in life. It looked innocently around, eager to absorb all the knowledge of the world around it that it could.

"Oh Elli she's beautiful." Ann said, sounding like a true girl for once. Popuri nodded in agreement and tenderly stroked the baby's cheek.

"I want one!" Popuri whined, gazing longingly at the baby.

"What are you going to name her... it is a girl right?" Karen asked looking at the baby.

"Yes _she _is a girl." Elli said, thinking hard. "And I think I'm going to call her Elody." She said smiling. The girls exchanged glances and all seemed to decide they liked the name as they nodded.

"Great, Elody. My beautiful little Elody." Elli said lovingly. The baby looked around the room and then looked at Karen inquiringly. She smiled and stroked the baby's soft cheek.

"There are a lot of harsh things in this world. But your Mom is such a great mother, that I'm sure she'll protect you from all of them. Though there are some things no one can protect you from, we can just be there to help guide you." Karen told the baby. The others exchanged worried glances, they knew Karen was talking about Jack's death.

"Wow, haven't we grown up!" Ann said hastily, trying to change the subject. They all nodded in agreement.

"We have... I mean, Popuri's married, Elli's married and with a baby, Mary and Gray are finally a couple..." Karen said counting off the changes on her hand.

"Rick and Karen are going to get engaged..." Popuri said, Ann's eyes widened suddenly and she hissed at Popuri to be quiet. Popuri realised what she had said and clapped her hand to her mouth suddenly.

"What?" Karen demanded. Popuri and Ann looked fearfully at each other as each thought of a cunning plan.

"Well I think you are gonna get engaged. It's just what I think..." Popuri said trying to sound innocent. Ann nodded and tried to look nonchalant.

"Okay..." Karen said eyeing them suspiciously. The baby began to cry and Ann and Popuri breathed a sigh of relief. Elli rocked the baby gently in her arms and hummed a soothing lullaby, while the baby continued to cry.

"Oh, I think she's hungry." Elli said.

"I made some cookies earlier... I could go get those." Popuri suggested kindly. Elli laughed and shook her head.

"No, babies at this age don't eat solids they drink milk!" Elli said laughing.

"Yeah... sure... I knew that." Popuri said trying to sound casual. "Cookies go great with milk."

The others sighed and the baby continued to cry.

"You guys wanna watch me feed her?" Elli asked, laughing when she saw the others cringe.

"Sorry, I can't... I have... umm... yeh..." Karen said dashing out the door.

"Well, business calls, you know how busy we get..." Ann said following Karen quickly.

"I don't know what the big deal is..." Popuri said shrugging, but she followed them anyway.

After Popuri was told exactly what "feeding the baby" would include, she sat staring wide eyed at the wall.

"Well I still want one." She said after a while.

"Me too." Ann said in agreement. Karen thought of having a baby with Rick and cringed. A baby might not be so bad, but a Rick baby...

"I'm not so sure, first I'll get married, then I'll think about babies." She said with a shrug.

"Yeah, well I'm getting no closer to being married. Cliff says he isn't really thinking about it and he's happy with the way things are now." Ann said sadly.

"Well you know there's nothing wrong with proposing yourself in this day and age." Karen suggested. Ann considered it but watched as Popuri wrinkled her nose.

"I wouldn't have liked to propose myself, I'd always dreamt of being proposed _to_,and I couldn't have settled for anything else." Popuri said dreamily as though re-enacting being proposed to in her head.

"Well if I reach eighty and Cliff still hasn't proposed, then I'll ask him." Ann said laughing.

"Well, I'm not sure if I'm ready to get married..." Karen said causing Ann and Popuri to gasp. She looked at them questioning and they pretended nothing was wrong.

"So if Rick proposed, would you say yes?" Popuri asked, trying her hardest to sound out-of-interest.

"Meh." Karen said with a shrug. Ann and Popuri exchanged worried glances and Popuri nodded in Karen's direction, hinting that Ann should do something.

"Well I think you should say yes, I mean if you say no now, who knows if he'll propose again!" Ann said. Karen considered it and shrugged again, what did she care about getting married? The one person who she'd ever truly wanted to marry was dead.

"Well thankfully he shouldn't propose for a long time, so I've got ages to figure things out." Karen said calmly, leaning back on her chair.

"Don't be so sure..." Ann muttered under her breath. Karen looked at her curiously and then yawned.

"Well anyway, I've got to go, I promised Zack I'd help ship in some fireworks from Forget-me-not valley, this guy Casey is selling them cheap." Karen said standing up. She then strode out of the room and skipped away, leaving Ann and Popuri panicking.

The night of the fireworks arrived and Karen prepared to meet Rick at the dock in an hour's time. She was ready early and so decided to visit Carter, as she seemed to end up doing every fireworks festival. She spotted Carter standing outside and watching the stars in the sky peacefully.

"Heya Carter!" Karen said, happily walking over.

"Hello Karen." Carter said tearing his eyes away from the stars to look at her. He examined her outfit and nodded approvingly. "You look lovely."

Karen smiled and looked into the churchyard. It was filled with the gravestones of departed mineral town residents, including Jack's, but with no body buried beneath. Karen shivered seeing his name carved into the cold, grey stone. Next to it she saw Ellen's gravestone, another recent burial.

The graves stood, like thick knives sticking out of the ground, ready to slice the livings hearts with painful memories. Near to that she spotted her own grandmother's tombstone, it read Eve Bordeaux carved in ghostly letters on her slab. Karen shuddered again, the thought of her cold grandmother laying beneath still scared her. When she was little she had had a huge fear of death and every time she went to church the tombstones scared her, the thought that one day, she too would lie cold beneath the ground.

"It's a beautiful evening." Carter said, pulling Karen from her thoughts. She nodded passively. Carter looked at the grave and frowned.

"It's not healthy to dwell in the past Karen." He said worriedly. Karen looked at him blankly and stared.

"How come you do then?" Karen asked coolly. Carter looked at her shocked, he ran his hands nervously through his hair.

"What do you mean?" He asked nervously. Karen shrugged and looked calmly at the grave.

"I know that your favourite sermon is more than just a story. The one in particular is the one about that boy. You know... the one where he sees his mother in the morning and finds her dead, when he asks his father he says she is just sleeping. Should the father have told the boy the truth? Well? Do you have any particular views on that?" Karen demanded. Carter looked at her so surprised he didn't know what to say.

"Karen... how did you know that?" He asked wide eyed.

"Ever since I was young, you used to tell that sermon so often and you always seemed to have particular feelings." She said with a shrug. Carter nodded quietly and looked back up at the stars. Immediately she wished she hadn't said anything, but she had held it in for twelve years. Carter seemed to shine like an angel in the moonlight, the saviour of mineral town. Yet for some reason, he seemed more human to her then, less perfect and more like everybody else. Just like them he had suffered and yet, he never showed it.

"My Mom died when I was young and my dad told me she was asleep." He said after a while. "It was only a few days later, when I walked into her room and she was still lying there, in the exact same position on the bed that I realised, she was gone. My dad had been sleeping next to her for those days, pretending she was alive. I called my Grandma and told her that I didn't think Mom was waking up, so she came over and then called an ambulance. It wasn't until after the funeral... I found out that my dad had murdered her, he'd wanted to keep her the same way forever. Maybe if I'd... it doesn't matter."

Karen stared at him, shocked. She had never known that the story was so... twisted. She breathed in deeply, allowing the cool air to revive her.

"Oh Carter I'm sorry, I didn't realise." Karen said, shocked. Carter sighed glumly and then forced himself to smile again.

"We all lose people Karen, because everyone dies someday. After that my grandma took me in and I was fine, it was only when she died things went wrong. I was raised by a priest for a few years and I learnt the ways of the church and then when I was a young man I found mineral town."

"Just after our old pastor died." Karen said smiling. Carter nodded and looked back at Karen's grandmother's gravestone. She remembered her grandmother, a barmaid and wine enthusiast who had been a beauty during her youth. She had beautiful platinum blonde hair which, Karen was told, was where she got her two blonde streaks. Carter gestured up to the sky and she looked up, seeing the beautiful pinprick small stars that shone... like diamonds in the sky.

"My grandmother once told me the stars are our departed family members' souls shining as tiny stars in the sky and they watch us from those stars." Carter said smiling.

"Isn't that from the lion king?" Karen asked suspiciously. Suddenly they heard a bang and fireworks lit up the sky, allowing Carter to escape her accusation.

"God comes through for you at exactly the right times, doesn't he?" Karen laughed hurrying down the path.

"He sure does." He shouted after her, watching as she ran to the beach.

She arrived at the dock a little late and found Rick waiting impatiently for her.

"Sorry I'm late, I was talking to Carter." Karen said apologetically.

"No problem." Rick replied forgivingly. The fireworks banged in the sky, Catherine wheels and others whizzed into the air, forming a bang of light and colour. Some squealed as they rose into the sky, sounding like scared pigs, while others shot up with all the majesty of a dragon. Rick looked at Karen, his eyes filled with mystery, he then looked up to the sky, where the fountain of tiny stars were littered across the sky, beaming down at them.

"Karen, aren't the stars beautiful?" He asked, sounding effeminate. She thought about shrugging but instead settled with a nod.

"When I was younger I used to wish upon them. Some of the wishes came true and some didn't, but I still believed that every wish no matter how farfetched would be granted, I even wished that my dad would come home." He said dreamily. He chuckled and Karen nodded intently.

"Wish upon a star Karen and even the most unlikely things can happen, make a wish!" He said, sounding annoyingly like the fairy godmother from Cinderella. He looked at her expectantly and she sighed. She looked up to the sky and picked the brightest star she could find. She then closed her eyes and whispered "I wish Jack were alive."

Rick didn't hear her, he smiled, his romantic plan was going perfectly. She had just made her wish, which he was sure was about wanting to marry him. Wouldn't she be happy when he proposed to her only minutes later. He reached into his pocket and stroked the feather, trying to build up his confidence. He took a deep breath, he was almost ready to do what he had wanted to for eight years. He looked at Karen, she looked peaceful and happy, he couldn't wait to hear her excitement when he asked.

Finally Rick turned to Karen, the blue feather clutched tightly in his hand. Karen spotted it and immediately her green eyes widened, she gaped at him with her jaw dropped for a moment.

"Karen..." Rick said, bending down on one knee. Karen's heart did a somersault and she sat silently staring at him. She had no idea what to think, or what to do. She looked hastily over to the beach, wondering if she could make a run for it and decide another time.

"Will you marry me?" He asked, smiling stupidly. Those four words hit Karen like a tonne of bricks. Married? To Rick? She had had plenty of time to think about it since her friends had been dropping hints all week, but hadn't she said just a few days ago that she would say no?

After about ten minutes of silence and Rick staring at her with that stupid smile plastered on his face she realised she hadn't said anything in ages. Rick's smile was beginning to fade and as far as she could tell there was no escape.

"Please say something..." Rick pleaded after a while. Karen gulped and tried to speak.

"I... I... I'm surprised... I... erm..." She said panicking. What should she say? How could she break his heart? She did after all love him, right? She took one look at his face and felt pity and sadness. She could tell he was holding back tears, this was not how he had planned it. She just couldn't say no, that would ruin everything, but would it be betraying her heart to say yes?

"Sure." She said indifferently after a while. Rick dived into the air and cheered screaming "YES". He hugged her tightly in his arms and kissed her.

"Thank you Karen, I love you so much! You'll see, I'll be the best husband ever!" He exclaimed happily.

"I don't doubt that..." Karen said softly. Rick then ran off into the night screaming "SHE SAID YES". Soon the whole town was aware that they were to be married soon.

Rick had already run off into the night to tell his Mom as Karen sighed. She shoved her hands into her pockets and headed home wondering if she'd made the right decision. Outside she spotted Carter again, ready to offer his guidance as usual. She could tell he had been waiting for her and the anticipation still lingered in his eyes.

"Congratulations." He said, managing to sound completely happy for her and half-hearted at the same time.

"For what?" Karen asked coolly, taking a seat on the bench outside the church.

"Why for your engagement of course, to Rick. By now the whole town knows, maybe even China knows the racket he was making. So how is it _you_ don't know?" Carter asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes, fine. Congratulations to me. Come on Carter we both know this wasn't my decision." She said cutting to the chase.

"You know me too well. Apparently I know you too well too." He said chuckling. She feigned a smile and looked at him, waiting for the advice.

"Did you want to say yes?" He asked. She shrugged, she really had no idea.

"I don't know. I'm not sure if I'm ready to marry him. But I don't want to break his heart either. So did I make the wrong decision?" She asked. He made a thinking face and imitated her shrug.

"Let's put it this way. Had you said no, you would still have been unhappy, still have wondered if you made the right decision and still feel as awful as you do now. However Rick would be even unhappier and would be crying his eyes out. As it is now, you are unhappy but Rick is over the moon. So is it better to upset two people or just the one?" Carter asked wisely.

"I guess I did make the right decision then." She said, smiling with relief.

"No you didn't." He said seriously. She looked at him in confusion, but he continued to stare blankly at her.

"To be honest Karen, there was no right decision, you just picked the path of least resistance. Because unless you decide whether you want to marry Rick or not you're always going to be unhappy. So think about it. Don't marry him if you don't love him." Carter said. Karen felt a chill wind blow past, she had never had such confusing advice from Carter, but it wasn't an easy situation. Carter was right, she had to figure out how she felt, or else she could make the biggest mistake of her life.

The next morning her mother greeted her with a huge mug of hot chocolate covered with marshmallows and whipped cream and a huge smile on her face. Karen gratefully accepted it and licked off some of the cream. This was the nicest her mother had been in months which made her suspicious.

"What's this for?" She asked distrustfully. She sniffed the drink and decided it was probably not poisoned. So she took a long swig of hot chocolate, just in case Sasha decided to take it away again.

"What? Can't a mother treat her beautiful daughter to a mug of hot chocolate without being questioned?" Sasha asked, sounding almost hurt.

"Yes a mother _can_. But with you it's suspicious..." She said sipping the hot chocolate again. "What's this about?"

"As if you didn't know! You're engagement to Rick silly! I've been wanting this for so long and finally my little daughters getting married!" She squealed, sounding like an overexcited teen. Karen opened her mouth wide, making a mouth of hot chocolate fall back into the cup, she'd almost forgotten. She took another sip and swallowed it back down again.

"Oh right that." She said casually.

"We must start organising it!" Sasha exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"I haven't even organised the date with Rick yet... so let's not rush it." She said hastily, standing up. She brushed her hair and then shoved her Mom out of the room while she changed.

"Well make a date!" Sasha said sounding annoyed. Karen emerged from the room and slammed the door.

"How about no." She said rudely and dashed down the stairs and out the door.

She hurried to the chicken farm and found Rick feeding the chickens and humming an annoying tune, namely "chick, chick, chick, chick chicken, lay a little egg for me". Rick heard her coming and stopped humming abruptly, he then stood smiling goofily at her.

"Hey wife-to-be." He said grinning gaily. She forced a weak smile onto her face and nodded.

"Hey... erm... we need to talk." She said, trying to make the words not sound like a death sentence.

"Sure about the wedding, right? Come on in sweetie." He said leading her indoors. They sat down by the fire and she smiled nervously.

"Well, I'm just going to be honest with you Rick. Because that's what couples do right?" She asked, Rick nodded, his smile fading. "I'm having doubts, do you think it's too soon?"

Rick took a deep breath and shook his head.

"No. I mean I had doubts too, but then I thought, we've pretty much had since childhood and besides what does time matter if we love each other?" He said reassuringly. Karen considered it, he was right about all those things. He had confirmed it, the only question she really needed to ask herself was "do I love him?"

"I guess your right. Thanks honey." She said affectionately.

"So about the date for the wedding. When do you think. I think sooner rather than later, is that okay?" He asked. She thought for a moment, maybe if they waited longer she could figure out her feelings, but maybe after the wedding she would like him more.

"Yes, that sounds fine. So when?" She agreed.

"How about a fall wedding?" Rick offered.

"Nah... too close to my birthday and not enough time to plan." She said.

"Winter?"

"Nah too cold."

"Spring?"

"Sure, why not!"

"It's so far away." He whined. Karen smiled and nodded.

"It's perfect." She said. Rick sighed and nodded.

"How about the first, it's like a new start together in the new year." He suggested, sounding like a schoolgirl dreaming of her marriage. She laughed, he was a romantic, more so than she had ever been. Sure, she'd always had romantic ideas in her head, but she'd never thought them through quite as much as Rick.

"Sounds great." She said, sounding a bit half-hearted. Rick smiled and leaned up close to her pulling her into a hug. He kissed her head gently, and she smiled. Maybe marrying Rick was what she wanted, after all, no one could ever love her more... except maybe Jack. She flinched at the memory, was she letting him down? Well he'd let her down first, he'd gone and died on her. But could Rick ever replace him?

"Let's start organising the wedding now." Rick said excitedly. "So outside or inside?"

"Inside... no wait...outside, I can't decide." She said, picturing a church wedding then one on Mother's hill.

"I think in the church would be better, it's hard for my Mom to hike up the hill." He said. Karen frowned, she'd really prefer one on Mother's hill.

"Okay, so the cake, chocolate or vanilla?" She asked picturing herself biting into a delicious slice of chocolate fudge cake, she drooled.

"Vanilla of course. A wedding has to have a white cake." He said, shifting his glasses. She made a face, she wanted chocolate.

"Fine. So who are you gonna pick to be your best man?" She asked curiously. She then began to wonder, did Rick have any close male friends? He hated Kai, so that wouldn't work. He barely knew Gray, even though he worked opposite. The doctor and he were strictly on a doctor-client relationship. But he and Cliff seemed on okay terms.

"Cliff, he's my closest guy mate. I suppose Popuri will be your maid of honour." He said with a shrug. Karen gulped, who would she pick as her maid of honour?

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Well there's another minature decision for Karen to make, less big than "do i marry the creepy chicken jerk" anyway. 


	14. Holy Matrimony

So guys, we're now getting nearer to the wedding, a little too close for comfort i'd say :S.

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14.Holy matrimony 

Over the fall Karen had been both anticipating and dreading her wedding. Barely any of the plans were made, but she had decided to leave it up to her two capable bridesmaids. The decision had been so difficult that in the end she had decided to pick both Ann and Popuri. But as a sort of twisted revenge for the sleepless nights they had put her through she had decided upon the most hideous dresses for them she could find. They were a strange radioactive green colour, with a puffy skirt and as many frills as she could find. She knew Ann would hate her and probably refuse to wear it, which made the idea so much more succulent.

When she had given the designs to Lillia she had wrinkled up her nose and secretly changed the dresses completely. They became light lavender in colour with long sleek skirts and small bows at the back. Karen had been slightly perturbed by this but she promised she wouldn't massacre the dresses as long as her wedding dress was the most beautiful ever seen. Lillia had sworn to make this reality, however she told Karen she could only see the dress on the wedding day. This, Karen guessed, was Lillia's way of making sure that she didn't run away before the wedding.

Any last minute escaping would have to be done on the day. She wasn't denying the fact that she might run away, she still had no idea whether she truly wanted to get married, but it was easier than breaking Rick's heart. However the wedding planning was proving to be a rather stressful experience. She had so many choices to make, such as roses or lilies? She chose white roses and tiny jasmine flowers as white was just the right colour for a wedding.

There was the decision between fruit cake and white sponge, but she had never truly likes fruit cake so she went for the sponge. Every day Ann and Popuri would question her and organise exactly what she wanted, and after months of questioning she was sick and tired of it. She still had work to do at the shop while balancing the wedding planning. But all the plans were in motion and now everything just had to be prepared. She still didn't understand what the big fuss was about though, the wedding wasn't for another month. She didn't remember Elli's wedding being so stressful, but then again Elli made most of the plans herself. She felt like she was going to explode with all the planning and constant discussing, so she started going for walks more often.

She was walking down the beach, the sand and ice forming small clumps in her shoes. The weather was cold and the sea roared with the foreboding of its icy expanse. The sea was now black, rather than its summer colour of tropical marine blue. She swallowed a lump from her throat and sighed, her eyes were so tired from the many sleepless nights. Everyone seemed so happy about the wedding, she was the only one who felt a terrible dread. She bit her lip, the sea crashed onto the shore angrily, she was making the wrong decision.

"What do I do?" She shouted angrily, demanding an answer from the cold waves. They crashed angrily against the shore again as though in answer of her questioning tone.

"I can't put the wedding off now. It means too much to everyone! What's my other choice, I either put off the wedding, have everyone hate me and die alone. Or I marry Rick and regret that it wasn't the right thing, but try to learn to love him." She moaned. "Urgh, this isn't a choice! This is a death sentence!"

She collapsed onto the cold hard ground and stared at the sky. She grimaced, it had been so long since she had seen the sun, she was starting to forget what blue skies looked like. She clenched her teeth tightly and forced the hot tears she felt rising down again.

"No, this isn't the end of the world. It'll all be fine, I love Rick." She told herself. But if she had to keep reminding herself that she did, was it really true? She swallowed her negative thoughts down and took a deep breath, it was time to face the wedding planners again.

She strode into the inn to find Ann glaring angrily with a notebook in her hands. Popuri was sitting next to her with a bored expression on her face.

"Where have you been? We were supposed to meet at two o'clock, it's now three!" Ann said angrily, slamming the book onto the table. Popuri looked up as though finally out of her trance and yawned.

"I'm sorry, I lost track of time." Karen apologised and sat down opposite Ann.

"Okay, well let's get to writing your vows!" Popuri squealed excitedly.

"Do I have to write vows? This is so pointless. Why can't I just say I love you and be done with it." She said folding her arms in anger.

"Because," Ann said, her teeth clenched, "It shows no feeling."

"Yeah, you want it all to be special and heartfelt!" Popuri said dreamily. Karen bit her lip, how could she say heartfelt words if her heart didn't feel them.

"Fine, fine." Karen said giving up. Ann smiled with satisfaction and pulled a pen out of her pocket.

"So... what do you want to say?" Ann asked, biting the pencil.

"Erm... Rick, I love you so much, ever since we were kids I felt a special bond with you blah, blah, blah, yak, yak, yak." She said boredly, without any feeling what so ever.

"Heartfelt." Popuri reminded her sweetly, Karen rolled her eyes.

"You suck at this." Ann told her.

"I know." Karen admitted, nodding in agreement. Popuri sighed and grabbed the pencil off Ann.

"Okay, this is what you're going to say..." She said scribbling down something in the book. A few minutes later she put the pencil down and smiled smugly at her work. Karen leaned over at read it, nodding with approval.

"Sound great." She said, leaning back on her chair.

"You read this and learn it until you feel it, kay?" Popuri said seriously. Karen nodded and reclined more in her chair.

"I think that's pretty much all the plans, just leave everything up to us okay." Ann said with a wink, she smiled and nodded. She loved having two bridesmaids to do her job for her. She left the inn skipping to learn her vows.

The 14th of winter was Valentine's day, the day when girls gave their boyfriends chocolates. A few years before Karen had been feeling so generous that she had given every man in the village chocolate. Well that year she was feeling particularly scrooge-like so she decided to just give Rick a batch of chocolate cookies, made by her and Popuri. Rick had always been one of the most excepting of her cooking, when they were young she used to make mud pies and offer them around and he was the only one brave enough to try them. Sadly he got a nasty case of food poisoning from it and was sick for a week. Karen had visited him everyday, with freshly squeezed orange juice as an apology, her mother had told her that the vitamin C and nutrients might help. Whether that was true or not she didn't know, but it helped her feel less guilty for making her best friend sick.

On the 14th she handed over the cookies and Rick smiled gratefully. In the end though, they ended up eating them together in front of the fire and sharing stories. She and Rick were great friends, but they had never really acted like a couple. They never really did the stuff couples should do, like hold hands and hug all the time, instead they talked. Karen had always put it down to Rick being too shy, but the more time they spent together the more she realised, it was because there was no connection. There was no spark or chemistry between them only friendship. They spent the entire day together, talking about the wedding and discussing all the disasters that could happen.

"What if a meteor hits earth on our wedding day?" Karen suggested, swallowing a mouthful of cookie.

"I don't care as long as I spend my final day with you." Rick said sweetly. Karen grinned happily.

"Awww, I think I'd care a little..." She said and he laughed.

"Do you know what my worst case scenario is?" He asked seriously. Karen shook her head and helped herself to yet another cookie.

"Wait, is it that I'll eat so many cookies that I won't fit into my wedding dress? Because that's mine." She said shuddering.

"Nope," Rick said shaking his head, "It's that you'll get cold feet and run away."

"Oh." She said softly. Rick smiled and squeezed her hand.

"But I'm not worried, because I know that we love each other and you'd never do that to me." He said almost forcefully. She nodded slowly, her eyes wide.

"But other than that, you can be as fat as you like." He joked, steering them away from an awkward silence.

"But what if I'm walking down the isle and my dress splits and... and... Everyone sees my underwear!" She said hysterically. Rick burst out laughing his face turning a violent shade of red.

"That would be the icing on the cake!" He said and Karen laughed. She made a worried face and he chuckled again. He then gave her a long hug.

"Now I have to get back to work. Sorry, it's on Valentines day and all." He said apologetically. She shrugged.

"No problem, we still have the starry night festival and you'd better organise something special." She hinted. Rick winked and then strode out the door. She sighed and took one last cookie for the road.

The remaining weeks before the starry night festival saw Karen concentrating on her work at the shop and wondering whether, after she was married, she would continue to work there, or perhaps she would work at the poultry farm with Rick. She knew she'd probably take over Lillia's job and become just like Popuri, a "professional" housewife. She wondered if her dad would be able to cope without her, he was awful at collecting the townspeople's debts.

She continued to stack seeds onto a shelf, wondering why they still bothered to display them without a resident farmer. Only people who wanted really fresh vegetables would bother to buy a pack of seeds only to grow them in their tiny gardens. She was already preparing the spring seeds, she couldn't wait until those crops, they were so much better than anything you could grow in fall. But her favourite time was the pineapple harvest in summer, when she could have a juice anytime she wanted. But she also had a particular liking of the bamboo shoots that grew in spring, they went great in some dishes. She sighed and began to colour code the seeds, she had never had a very big role in the shop, just setting out the supplies and pricing any new ones, which barely ever came. But her job was better than Jeff's, which included standing in front of a counter all day and being bullied by customers.

"Hey Karen!" Jeff called, snapping her out of her daydreams.

"Yeah dad?" She asked boredly. She wandered out into the front shop where she found a rather fat blonde man with a tall purple top hat. He looked rather like a mixture between a pig and a salmon, with his overly large lips and egg shaped posture. She studied him and then made her sulky, angry face. It was the gourmet.

"Can I help you?" She asked, her teeth gritted.

"Yeees." He said, with a high pitched, annoying voice. Karen cringed and forced a polite smile.

"I would like some ingredients from your quaint little shop. I'm looking for a rather rare ingredient which I have searched for throughout the world and finally my search has brought me here." He said very matter-of-factly. Karen nodded boredly and yawned to show that this piece of information didn't interest her in the slightest.

"Yes... well anyway I'm looking for the rare and legendary white flower, the snow hibiscus, do you stock it here, or do you know of its whereabouts?" He asked in a hushed voice. Karen snorted and looked at him patronisingly.

"Yes we do stock a super rare flower that probably doesn't exist." She said sarcastically. He looked at his feet sadly and then looked up again determinedly.

"I shall pay you ten thousand dollars for that flower!" He said excitedly. Karen saw Jeff's jaw drop down as he began to stammer.

"Ten...ten...ten thousand?" Jeff stammered and the gourmet nodded. "Let me just talk to my daughter a second."

The gourmet shrugged and Jeff pulled Karen behind the counter.

"We could really use that money, to help pay off my debts. Is there anyway you could get that flower?" He whispered desperately.

"Well all I know is that legend has it that it will appear on Mother's hill only in the winter month at midnight. But that's just a legend." She said, recalling the days when Ellen used to tell them that story.

"Well it's worth a try. Tonight, why don't you take him up the hill at midnight and try to find that plant." Jeff told her. It was more of an order than a question and she sighed.

"Why don't I go with Ann and Popuri and find the flower, otherwise he might just take it and not give us the money." She suggested quietly.

"Good idea, but don't tell him that." He told her and she rolled her eyes. They emerged from the behind the counter and Jeff addressed the gourmet in a business-like manner.

"We have talked it over and my daughter will go up the hill tonight and retrieve the flower for you." Jeff said. The gourmets smile faded and he shook his head.

"Nonsense, I wish to see the flower be picked myself, or else how will I know it's the correct flower." He said suspiciously.

"Because, we're decent and honourable folk!" Karen snarled. The gourmet shrugged and scratched his greasy blonde hair.

"Regardless I shall escort you." He said. His word was final. She sighed, it looked like she would be spending her evening with the dullest man on earth.

That night they set out at ten thirty pm, just in case it took slightly longer than expected to reach the summit. Karen was dressed warmly with a fleece a raincoat and two layers of tracksuit bottoms. She walked out into the cold and shivered, even with all her layers. She shoved on a pair of gloves and a hat then headed down to the inn to meet the gourmet.

"Evening." He said with a nod. She shrugged and strode on ahead through the thick snow. They marched up through the cold and to the summit of the hill. Karen's face was numb with cold and she saw that the gourmets face was turning the colour of an overly ripe tomato. She giggled, at least she could enjoy seeing the fat gourmet march up mother's hill.

They reached the summit at eleven thirty, with still plenty of time to spare, she sighed. A whole half hour spent with the gourmet would be pure hell. She watched his piggy eyes observe the scenery, delighting at every snowflake, animal and tree. He looked at her and smiled, trying to be friendly, she simply scowled back to show that she'd rather be anywhere else.

"My dear, I know you don't like me much. Is it simply because you lose the cooking festival every year? Because I promise I have no bias, your food just tastes awful." He said casually. Karen scowled harder, how dare he insult her food when she was doing him a huge favour?

"Well, it still sucks. I don't hate you for that, you're forgetting I don't even know you. All you do is come every year and scoff our food then leave. Do you do that every week...? Because it would explain a lot." She said angrily. The gourmet looked self-consciously down at his stomach and groaned. They then sat in silence for a further ten minutes. Finally Karen's watch told her it was midnight and she ventured onto the hill to find the flower. Finding a white flower on white snow proved near impossible, but eventually she found it lurking near a rock.

"I've found it!" She said, clutching its tiny stem.

"Damn it!" The gourmet shouted. Karen looked at him strangely, she then scowled harder realising that he wouldn't have paid them had he found it first.

"Come on then, let's go to my house and you can pay my dad." She said skipping down the hill and away from him. He followed after her, trying to run but finding that his protruding stomach got in the way. Karen reached the shop and the gourmet arrived five minutes later gasping for breath. She shoved her key into the door and allowed him to follow her inside.

"Dad! We're home!" She yelled up the stairs. Jeff oozed down the stairs and looked tiredly at Karen, she pulled the flower out of her pocket and yelled "tadah". Jeff's face brightened immediately as he grabbed the flower to look at. The petals were silky and smooth and had a delicate white shimmer to them. The stem was long and thin and it ended in a small curl at the bottom. The centre of the flower was red with a purple dot in the middle, it truly was a beautiful flower.

"It's amazing. Now hand it over." The gourmet said, holding his hand out. Jeff went over to give it to him but Karen snatched it away quickly, her father was too gullible.

"First you show us the money then we'll give you the flower." She said suspiciously. The gourmet froze, he then frowned.

"You see... well... I don't have ten thousand dollars, I only have about two thousand dollars in the whole world. Why do you think I became a gourmet, it's for the free food and board. But if I had that flower I could make the most delicious candy in the world! Can you imagine? A candy that becomes more popular than chocolate and all it needs is some of the nectar from that flower. All I have to do is let it a-sexually reproduce and create more of the same flower. It's perfect!" He said, his eyes wild. "So hand it over, I don't want to use force."

Suddenly he pulled out a long silver gun and Karen gasped. He grabbed Karen and held it against her head, she quickly threw the flower to Jeff.

"Don't give it to him dad, if he shoots me he'll go to jail." She said bravely. The gourmet looked slightly perturbed but continued to force the gun to her head.

"Hand it over." He demanded angrily.

"I'm not afraid to die." Karen said calmly. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and fear screamed at her to give him the flower. But she stood with a calm expression on her face, something inside her longed to die. She could feel it stronger than ever before, this nagging feeling deep down that wanted death, it wanted her to join Jack. The gourmet looked angry and scared at the same time, this was obviously the first time he had threatened to kill someone.

"It's hard, isn't it." She said coolly, she could tell he wanted nothing more than to escape. But the situation had already started and he couldn't just run. Jeff stood uselessly by the counter, unable to decide what the best course of action was.

"I'll shoot!" The gourmet threatened desperately.

"Fine." She said calmly. The gourmet swallowed hard and pulled the trigger, Karen shut her eyes tightly.

A minute or two later Karen realised that she wasn't dead and looked around the room.

"No bullets." The gourmet said shaking. Karen took this chance to kick him in the groin and head to the nearest phone. She quickly called the Mayor and soon half the town arrived. Harris, the local policeman, and Zack dragged him away. A police boat would soon arrive to carry him away. The townspeople had already had the entire story explained to them by Jeff and they were standing worriedly around. Sasha ran in weeping and hugged Karen tightly.

"My baby, my brave child! Are you alright?" She asked, squeezing her tightly.

"I'm fine Mom." Karen said with a shrug. Although she couldn't hide the fact her hand was shaking. Ann and Popuri walked over and both hugged her, Popuri looked frightened and Ann had a serious look on her face.

"You should have just given him the flower." Ann said gravely. Karen knew she was probably right, but shrugged anyway.

"It turned out all right in the end." She said calmly.

"Thankfully yes." Ann said. "Next time, don't be a hero."

"Yeah Karen, it's okay to run sometimes." Popuri said backing Ann up. Karen sighed and nodded, looking at her feet. Rick dashed over to her quickly and gave her a big hug and kiss.

"Oh Karen, are you alright. Well done for saving the flower." He said, she could tell he didn't mean "well done". She could tell he wanted to ask "what were you thinking?" But instead he had decided to be a supportive boyfriend.

"Thank you." She said gratefully. Rick smiled but his smile faded when he saw Ann's disapproving face.

"So anyway, what are you going to do with it?" He asked, moving the conversation on. Karen thought for a moment and then smiled.

"I'm going to press it and keep it." She said smiling. Popuri grinned sweetly, showing that that was exactly what she would do.

"Well you all must be tired. Let's all get to bed." The mayor said, shuffling off home. Everyone groaned and waved goodbye, they had all had an exiting night. Karen kissed her parents goodnight and then headed up to her room. She picked out a book from her shelf, it was one that she had borrowed off Jack, she smiled, running her fingers down the spine. It was called the chronicles of Narnia, a book telling the tale of a magical land. She remembered reading it and discussing it with Jack, apparently it was very well known on the mainland. She breathed in the smell of dust and then placed the flower between some of the pages and shut the book.

"There." She whispered. She then snuggled down into bed to get some sleep, unable to think of anything but the incident. She tried to force it out of her mind, but she just couldn't, why hadn't she been afraid of being shot? She swallowed hard, trying not to cry, she missed Jack. Finally her eyelids became heavy and she shut her eyes, secure inside her dreamland.

After a week had passed most people had already forgotten of the event partly, Karen believed, because no one really cared. The gourmet was a small part of their lives, so it didn't matter that he was gone and they were so used to bad things happening to Karen that news of her suffering didn't interest them. So this left her asking the question "why do bad things happen to good people". The answer, she had no idea. Everyone she asked just shrugged, uninterested with her little question. No one seemed to have any time anymore, people were suddenly working harder.

She remembered when she was younger, when everyone had too much time on their hands. People would sit for hours in the hot springs, relaxed with the remote country life. Now people seemed to be working harder, all trying to earn a living in the "American dream" world. Karen sighed as she recalled Mineral town being so remote that they barely knew there was a world past the long expanse of sea, but connections had been made. Sometimes the residents would go on holiday to the mainland, and each time they would bring a little piece of it back, a little more corruption. Karen found she was one of the only people who still had time to sit, and simply watch the world go by. But she knew that was soon to change.

She reclined on her bed thoughtfully, looking up at her worn ceiling, with cobwebs all around. She was waiting impatiently for Rick to pick her up for the starry night festival. He had told her he was planning something special, although she somehow doubted that when he never had time to visit her. She was wearing her nicest black top and a long flowing black skirt that she had received one birthday. Her hair and makeup was done to perfection and she was just laying there, bored.

"Hurry up." She whined, punching her pillow. He was already a half an hour late. She had watched Mary and Gray leave together, she sighed.

"I'll wait a few more minutes, and then I'll go find him." She told herself. Finally she heard a knock on the door and she hurried down. She opened it quickly and put a frustrated look on her face. He looked at her sheepishly and handed her a box of chocolates that she knew had been half price at the store. She frowned and he made an innocent face. He then held out his arm in a gentleman-like manner and she linked her arm with his. He took her to the inn, where they dined together with both Ann and Cliff and Popuri and Kai. None of the girls considered this their idea of romance, sharing the bill between them and spending their evening with two other couples.

"So when did you guys come up with this plan?" Karen asked her teeth gritted.

"Well we all just decided together really... we thought it would be great." Kai smiled, looking at Popuri with puppy dog eyes. Popuri's face softened and she blushed. Ann rolled her eyes and ate her dinner quickly. They all finished eating and finally Doug broke their awkward silence by handing out the bill. The guys asked the girls to chip in and they angrily forked over some cash. Finally they all stepped out of the restaurant and into the cool night air.

"So what's everyone doing now?" Kai asked with a grin.

"We were gonna walk by the hot springs then...erm go back to the room." Cliff said grinning. Ann glared at him and folded her arms.

"I'm tired, I think we'll just go for a quick walk then I'll turn in early." She said pretending to yawn.

"Well we were just gonna go straight home..." Kai said winking at Popuri.

"I don't feel like it, Ann do you fancy going for a walk with me?" Popuri suggested sweetly.

"Don't mind if I do." Ann said angrily and with that they strode off.

"What's up with them?" Cliff asked frowning.

"Women." Kai said rolling his eyes. Karen glared at them red faced and fuming.

"You ruined our evening and you expect us to just act normal after that. If you guys still want to have girlfriends tomorrow you'd better go apologise." Karen yelled. Cliff and Kai shuffled their feet and then edged off to find Popuri and Ann.

"Did I ruin your evening too?" Rick asked sadly and Karen nodded.

"I'm sorry, I guess I didn't think things through..."

"Yeah well... you arrived half an hour late and then you couldn't be bothered to make a romantic evening for us!" She said fuming. Rick nodded understandingly and timidly kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm really sorry, can we go and enjoy the rest of the night?" He asked hopefully.

"Fine." She agreed. They set off towards the hill silently to watch the last of the stars.

Before Karen knew it, it was the New Years festival and just one day before the wedding. She sat nervously on Mother's hill enjoying her last evening of single life. Rick had decided to go to the festival in the town square to enjoy buckwheat noodles. She silently reviewed her New Years lessons, trying to decide if she had any, so much had happened in one year that she couldn't think of what she would have done differently. Eventually she decided that she would have done everything the same. Her heart leapt, she was marrying Rick the next day. Soon she would be Mrs Karen Iris and no longer Karen Bordeaux.

Finally she would be a wife, a wife to Rick and she would be the best wife ever. Sure she couldn't cook, and still had some severe emotional issues, and wasn't entirely sure whether she loved her husband to be... but that didn't mean she wouldn't be a good wife, did it? She had to try extra hard and soon, she might be a mother, the best mother ever. She wouldn't make the same mistakes her Mom made, she would be a good Mom. She would bake cookies every evening for when her children got home from the church school, then she would have a delicious dinner prepared for them. She grinned dreamily, thinking about the future helped her to get rid of her cold feet.

She was scared though, but everyone gets a bit nervous before their wedding. She sighed, what if she tripped over walking up the isle, and then her skirt fell over her head and everyone would see her white lace underwear. She gulped. What if the cake caught fire? What if she was cutting the cake and someone fell into her and smooshed her face into the cake. She shook her head, now she was just being paranoid. It was getting really late, so she stood up and headed down the mountain. She needed an early start for her wedding. Imagine being late for your own wedding.


	15. You Do, Do you?

Hey again guys, yeah another update... whee i'm on a roll! Okay so it's half-term and I've gota week off school, this is me revising :S.

So I feel like answering some reviews again, cos hell i love you guys big cheesy grin.

So:

Kumiko Katawa: Karen said yes because she's stupid... well mainly because she felt pressurised by everyone around her. Yeah, I didn't think Karen hated chocolate, just didn't think she loved it. Ah well... Yeah isn't that every gals dream, then again i have friends who want to get married in the ocean :S, i have weird friends... and yeah you guessed that Karen would pick both Ann and Popuri, it's just easier that way.

Altrox the conquerer: Hmm, that's a good point, i guess because they're used to Mineral town and they do love it, even if things go wrong sometimes, but isn't that true wherever you are? Also if i sent all the characters off on a ship Mineral town would be rreeaally silent.

kelley28: Yeah i guess it's not Rick's looks that are so annoying, but then again his face when he's angry at Kai... shudders. He really is rude and annoying, and a bit nerdy. Way to obsessed with chickens... scarily so.

So thanks again for reviewing guys. Now on with the chapter...

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15. You do, do you?

Karen woke up, she was late for her own wedding. She gasped, she had overslept by about an hour. She had a quick shower while she wondered why no one had woken her up. She hurried downstairs to find breakfast laid out for her and a note from her parents.

_We decided to leave you so you weren't tired on your wedding. We'll be at the church, love Mom and dad._

Karen growled, they hadn't bothered to wake her up! Cursing she wolfed down her breakfast of cold porridge and tore the piece of paper into pieces. After eating she brushed her teeth and hunted for her wedding dress, to no avail. She couldn't find her dress anywhere in the house.

"Maybe Poe has it." She said to herself. She grabbed her makeup and a curling iron and pulled a coat on. She then headed over to Popuri's. Kai answered the door instead looking curious.

"Karen, why aren't you dressed yet? The wedding's in an hour!" Kai said worriedly.

"I know. But I can't find my dress." Karen said teeth gritted.

"Oh that'll be over at Lillia's, hurry." Kai said. Karen nodded and dashed over to the poultry farm. She hammered her fist on the door and Lillia answered looking flustered.

"Karen, you're late, everyone's at the church!" She said.

"I know, I overslept." Karen said angrily. She grabbed the dress off Lillia and changed quickly. Lillia helped her to do her hair and makeup and then Karen slipped on her shoes.

"Is there anything I'm forgetting?" Karen asked searching around the room.

"You seem to have everything dear... where are your vows?" Lillia said. Karen furrowed her brow and thought.

"Let's see, I put the paper with it on... on the kitchen table ready. Then... it wasn't there this morning... wait a second, oh no the note Mom and dad wrote on! That was the vows, oh no, I shredded it!" Karen said putting her head between her hands. Lillia looked at her sympathetically and patted her back.

"Can you remember any of it?" She asked. Karen shook her head, she was well and truly screwed.

"You'll just have to make it up." Lillia said. Karen nodded sadly. She then checked her watch and discovered that she was already half an hour late for her wedding.

"Oh no, oh no." She said and rushed out of the door with Lillia behind. She rushed down the streets in her wedding dress, stumbling over her white high heels, finally she arrived at the church doors. She flung them open and found everyone waiting for her expectantly. She flushed red, realising that this was one of the most embarrassing moments of her life. It only got worse when she saw the mud splattered over her white dress, she groaned. She strode up the aisle, trying to act dignified. Mary began to play "here comes the bride" on the organ, although it was too late, the moment was ruined. She reached Rick who's face had a mixture of joy and confusion plastered on it.

"You're late." He whispered, without accusation.

"I overslept and no one woke me." She said glaring in her parents direction.

"Well never mind, at least you turned up." He said. He sounded almost like he hadn't expected her _to _turn up. She swallowed hard, it was true she had had doubts but the fact that he would say that hurt her.

"Excuse me?" She asked, rather more loudly than she'd meant to. Rick looked taken aback. Carter then coughed, to stop them arguing and signal that he was ready to start the ceremony.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of Rick and Karen. I can't think of two people that are more suited to be together..." Carter said smiling. He went on with his speech, saying how he believed that they had been destined to be together and finally they were. Everyone knew this wasn't true, they were together out of an unlucky circumstance and that put a sour spin on the wedding.

"Now it's time for the vows, if you please." Carter said, gesturing to Rick. He smiled and stepped forward, holding a piece of paper in his pale hand.

"Karen, you are the most beautiful girl I know. Just looking at you tells me I don't deserve you, and yet here I am marrying you today. I love you more than it's possible for any man to love any women and if you let me I'll try to make you as happy as you've already made me. So I just want to tell you that I'll always love you no matter what." He finished sweetly. Karen gulped, she had to wing it. How could she top that when she had no idea what to say.

"Erm Rick..." She wanted to say something along the lines of you are so handsome, but everyone knew that wasn't true. "You are so...h... loving... yeah loving. I can see how much you love me everyday and...erm... If you let me, I hope that one day I'll be able to show you that I love you as much. You treat me like a princess, even though we've had our differences, I mean like a year or so ago I hated you, but now look, we're getting married. It's hard to believe I once found you repulsive..." She saw people's grins fade... perhaps that wasn't the right thing to say. "Well anyway, I love you Rick and I'd be honoured to be your wife."

Rick forced a smile and Carter cleared his throat.

"Okay... very nice Karen. Now, do you Rick take Karen to be your lawful wedded wife in sickness and in health till death do you part?" Carter said smiling.

"I do." Rick said grinning happily.

"And Karen, do you take Rick to be your lawful wedded husband in sickness and in health till death do you part?" He asked, his eyes twinkling.

"I...I... I do." Karen said, forcing the words out of her mouth. Rick heaved a sigh of relief.

"Now if anyone has any reason that these two people should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace." Carter said. Everyone held their breath. Some part of Karen wished that Jack would push open the heavy church doors and shout "I do". She wished that he would then take her into his arms and carry her out of the church while everybody cheered. There was silence.

"Then I now pronounce you husband and wife. Rick you may kiss the bride." Carter said winking at Rick. He grinned and leaned over and gave Karen a deep kiss. Lillia began to cry and Jeff looked on the verge of tears, while Ann and Popuri hugged. Then they marched down the isle, arms linked. Rick was grinning and Karen hoped that she was too. Everyone stood up and Elli, Ann and Popuri headed up to the front.

Carter pulled out of the store cupboard some new instruments which the whole town had chipped in for. There was a drum kit, an electric guitar, a base guitar, an acoustic guitar and a random triangle. Carter helped set up the instruments and a microphone and the girls stepped up to the instruments. Ann was on the drums, Elli played the base guitar and Popuri was singing. Then Gray wandered up to play the electric guitar.

"Karen, we've been practising so we could make your wedding super cool!" Ann said. She then counted them in and drummed a beat. Truly they sounded terrible, Popuri was out of tune, Ann kept getting her beat wrong, Elli didn't know how to play a base and Gray was playing any random chords that came into his head. By the end of it the townspeople were clutching their ears. Carter hurriedly put away the rock instruments and brought out what everyone was comfortable with: flutes, oboes and ocarinas. Gray hurried over to the pews again, embarrassed. The girls played a beautiful tune which everyone agreed was far better.

"So much for being modern." Ann said sadly after their piece. Karen smiled kindly and patted her back.

"Well I thought you ROCKED." Karen told her enthusiastically.

"Okay guys now it's time to dance, and eat. At the same time if y'all want to." Rick announced. Karen hurried over with a knife to cut the cake. The cake was absolutely beautiful, iced white with two little marzipan figurines of them. It looked so beautiful it could have been made out of marble, with its intricate design, complete with curls and columns. The cake had four layers and stood taller than May, Karen could see everyone's mouths watering. She sunk the sharp blade down into the soft sponge and put all the pieces onto plates. Everyone ran to help themselves, licking the creamy white icing. After the cake, people helped themselves to the food at the buffet: cocktail sausages, sausage rolls, chicken (which Rick avoided at all costs), chips and dip, assorted vegetables and entire bowls filled with chocolate and candy. Everyone began to dance, twisting and twirling in their beautiful dresses. Karen looked down at her own mud splattered dress, she had ruined the nicest dress she'd ever had.

"Don't worry, I'll take the stain out for you." Lillia said with a wink. She brought out of her handbag a bottle marked "Lillia's miracle stain remover" she poured a little on and winked as the mud disappeared before their very eyes. Karen giggled that it was like a commercial, she wondered whether Lillia would begin to explain how the solution oxidised the bubbles away. Instead she helped herself to some cocktail weenies. Rick strode over to her and held out his arm. It was apparently time for their first dance as husband and wife.

The music played and they began to dance, with Rick treading on her feet for a lot of the time. It made her recall the goddess festival a few years ago, when she had first danced with Jack. After Rick had chosen to dance with Popuri, and that was what had started off all the troubles. Which led her to wonder had Rick danced with her, would she ever had fallen in love with Jack. If Rick had been a better boyfriend would Jack still be alive? She frowned, Rick was grinning and looking around at everyone. It was probably the happiest day of his life, so why wasn't it the happiest day of her life? Soon the dance ended and Rick kissed her gently on the cheek and whispered into her ear, "I've never been happier." She blushed and grinned, she desperately wanted to say the same and mean it.

"Me too." She lied. Everyone looked so happy, why was it they were happy and not her?

After eating people began to clear away, Karen tried to help, but apparently it wasn't a bride's job. So she and Rick sat at the side holding hands, he stroked her hand gently, making her feel warm.

"Rick," she asked and he looked at her inquiringly.

"Yes dear." He said.

"Are we going on a honeymoon?" She asked. Rick looked slightly taken aback, as though she shouldn't ask such a thing.

"Do you want to go on a honeymoon?" He asked timidly. Karen nodded quickly. Rick managed a small "oh" and then looked around as if to find someone to help.

"Well no one else has been on a honeymoon in this village, it's not tradition. Besides my sweet, I don't think I can afford it." He told her.

"Oh... never mind then." She said sadly. She knew they couldn't afford it and now she couldn't remember why she'd even bothered to ask.

"But we'll have the best honeymoon here you could imagine." He said, trying to cheer her up.

"Jack would have taken me on a honeymoon." She said, before she could stop herself. Rick's face went dark and cold, like a statue. She quickly clapped her hands over her mouth.

"I didn't mean... I'm sorry." She said quickly. Rick let go of her hand and stood up.

"Don't worry." He said fists clenched. Karen gasped, she'd done it now. She didn't even know why she'd said it. She watched Rick walk off and sat pathetically in the corner. She saw Rick whisper something to Popuri and she gasped, "_oh no" _Karen thought. Popuri wandered over to her looking nervous.

"Oh Karen, sweetie." She said giving her a big hug.

"Rick told you?" Karen said sadly, Popuri's face made her heart sink.

"Yes he did. I'm sorry he can't afford a honeymoon. But you've got to understand none of us can, I know Jack could... but he's...he's..." Popuri said, her lower lip trembling.

"I know, I don't know why I said it. Tell Rick I'm sorry, I'm gonna head off home and pack." She said patting Popuri on the back. She then stood up and left the church with dignity.

She headed home and sat on her bed, entangling herself in her wedding dress. Tears dripped down her face, making her mascara run. After crying her eyes out she wiped away the tears and sniffed. She then looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes were red, swollen and puffy and her hair looked like a glorified birds nest, complete with veil. She sighed and pulled out some big cardboard boxes from the cupboard. She began to shove in all her clothes and all her memories. She tipped out her draws and emptied her cupboards and wardrobes. She pulled down pictures and put them into the box, she then found a small photograph of Jack, winning the horse race. She remembered how incredibly happy she'd been that day, all the effort of training his horse had been worth it. She reminded herself that she had to visit Silver one day over at Barley's ranch.

Finally most of her stuff was packed, she just had one more draw to search. Inside she found lots of papers with doodles on them, mainly with hearts saying Karen and Jack forever. She discarded the pieces of paper in the bin and then searched the drawer some more. There were necklaces and cards, which she either packed or threw away. Then she found a book, inside it pressed were the forget-me-nots that Jack had given her on the last day she'd seen him. She felt tears drip down her face as she looked at the beautiful blue flowers.

"I'll never forget you... but I want to. Jack, why won't you let me forget?" She whined, her voice cracking. She threw the flowers into the bin angrily, then feeling bad, she brought them out again. She placed them carefully in the book and packed it.

"I don't want to forget you, but what's the point if you're never coming back?" She sniffed. Suddenly her door opened and she saw her mother standing there sympathetically.

"What do you want?" Karen asked, wiping away her tears.

"Why do I think that those aren't tears of joy?" Sasha asked kneeling down to hug her daughter.

"Maybe because I'm not smiling." She said angrily.

"Jack may be dead, but as long as you remember him and never forget the good moments you had with him, he'll never truly be gone." Sasha said. Karen gazed at her with wide eyes, no snide comment. It was strange for her mother not to tell her to just get over it. Those were the greatest words of advice she'd ever seen uttered from her mothers lips.

"You're right." Karen said sounding surprised. Sasha smiled and hugged her daughter tightly.

"You did a very brave thing today. You married someone who will always be second place to another."

"It wasn't brave. I took the cowards approach, I sold my heart for security." Karen said bitterly.

"No, you got on with your life even though it was the hardest thing for you to do."

"You're just saying that because you want me out of your house." Karen said accusingly.

"Wrong again. I want you to have a life. One day your father and I won't be there to protect you and you'll need someone to look after you." Sasha told her.

"You may be right. But I still feel like I've made the wrong decision." Karen said sighing. Sasha took a deep breath and shook her head.

"Let me tell you a story."

"Uh-oh." Karen said sarcastically.

"No listen. See when I was about your age, I was in love with a guy who wasn't good for me. He was a drunk, a druggy and he abused me frequently. My parents hated him, with good reason, but I loved him despite that. I loved him even though I knew there was no way we could be together-"

"I get the feeling this guy wasn't dad." Karen said. Sasha nodded.

"Well anyway, one night he had to leave town because the police were after him and I had a choice: I could either go with him and live a life on the run or I could stay and have my heart broken. It was a difficult decision, but I decided to stay. Then I met Jeff, he was a perfectly nice guy but he just wasn't Joe. Joe was gone and I felt I couldn't get over him. Then Jeff proposed and I decided to marry him, even though it was the most miserable day of my life because I thought that one day Joe would come back. But look how happy I am now, I have a beautiful daughter, a loving husband and a great life." Sasha finished smiling proudly.

"That's all well and good, but I don't see how it applies to me." Karen said making a face.

"Oh it does dear. What I'm basically saying is, you may be unhappy now but you'll learn to love what you have." Sasha told her.

"Yeah, but I bet you didn't ever hate Jeff." Karen said.

"True." Sasha admitted with a sigh. "Still it's getting late, we'd better help you get your stuff over to Rick's."

"Righto." Karen said, picking up a box. Sasha helped her heave her stuff over to Ricks and put it away in her allocated drawers. Her mother then wiggled her eyebrows and left. Karen gazed around at her new room, it was a pretty room, with a newly bought double bed in the centre. It had pretty white sheets and looked beautiful and smooth. The walls were a light cream colour and there was a pink lamp in the corner. Karen breathed in the fresh scent of potpourri that was strong in the room, she smiled, Popuri had definitely been in there. Just at that moment Popuri walked in, looking shocked to see her.

"Oh Karen, why don't you take a walk or something... I need to... um... yeah." Popuri said awkwardly. Karen nodded understandingly and skipped out of the room. She stood out in the street and wondered where to go next, she wondered whether she should visit another couple or just visit the church. Since she'd just spent the best part of the morning in the church she decided to head over to the library to relax and enjoy the simplicity of reading a good book. The excitement and wonder that came from reading a great book filled Karen with happiness. She could escape from the world she lived in into a new one, leaving her troubles behind.

She walked into the library and instantly smelt the aroma of books, a fresh musty smell. The library looked beautiful the way it had been rebuilt, it had a new beautifully painted ceiling and marble columns holding it up. Mary greeted her with a sly grin and adjusted her glasses.

"Hey Karen, has Popuri kicked you out while she prepares for your wedding night." Mary said childishly.

"It's no big deal, I lost my virginity to Rick." She said bluntly. Mary turned a violent shade of red and began muttering "yes.. well."

"So would you like any sort of book..." Mary asked, gesturing to the shelves around her. Karen shrugged.

"Nah... I think I just came here for the quiet atmosphere, and originally so I wouldn't be hounded by people... I guess that's out of the window." Karen said with a shrug. Mary blushed and looked apologetic.

"Well I'm sorry but I've got to go on a family outing, my dad's busy on Monday so we're going now." Mary told her.

"Oh, so do you want me to leave?" Karen asked disappointedly.

"Oh no it's fine, I'm getting Gray to take care of the library for me, so he'll help you... in fact here he comes now." Mary said smiling. Gray greeted her grinning stupidly and Mary gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before hurrying out.

"Hey Karen." Gray said nervously. Karen smiled and pulled herself onto the desk.

"Hey Gray, how are you?" Karen asked.

"I'm good... nice wedding?" He asked, sounding rather grumpy. Karen nodded and shrugged at the same time for effect.

"Yeah it was alright, you know the usual." She said casually. Gray laughed and sat down next to her.

"Rick's a really lucky guy." He told her sweetly.

"Awww thank you Gray, you're making me blush." Karen said. He grinned and went red.

"Though... I can't believe you settled for a jerk like him." Gray said tactlessly. Karen would have wholloped him hard around the head had she not just been thinking the same thing.

"He's alright." She said, trying to sound optimistic.

"Yeah but still..." Gray said coldly. He then shifted a little closer to her, making her feel a little uncomfortable.

"It's nice of you to tell me your doubts on my wedding day..." She said sarcastically.

"Yeah well... I used to like you sorta... but then you married that... chicken boy." Gray said angrily. Karen flinched, Gray liked her?

"Well I like you..." She said, "as a friend." She added as he shifted closer to her. She then realised he was so close she could feel his breath on her face, she shifted backwards and fell in a heap on the floor. Gray then leaned down over her and kissed her on the lips. Karen fell backwards in shock.

"WHAT THE HELL?" She managed. Gray looked embarrassed and hid his face a little behind his hate.

"Sorry... I just like you..." He said timidly.

"It would help if you had told me before my wedding Gray... and what about Mary?" She asked shocked.

"I know it's dumb it's just... I dunno... it's the first time I've had a chance to approach you." He said nervously.

"You've had like... ages to approach me." She yelled. He backed away slightly.

"No... first there was Jack, and after you were really sad and then... I dunno... this was really dumb." He said, looking like he wanted the floor to swallow him up.

"Gray... had you told me like a few months ago... I dunno... but this is my wedding day... what kind of idiot..?" She said. She was feeling a little freaked out, wiping the saliva of her lips she stared at him.

"I'm so sorry, I just wanted to tell you... I dunno." He said, shoving his hands into his pockets. Karen took a deep breath and relaxed.

"Don't worry... I know it's hard... you might have picked a better time... but at least you got it off your chest..." Karen said trying to sound understanding rather than ready to pummel him.

"Please don't tell Mary... I'm so sorry." Gray said timidly. He sounded like a small child who had stolen some candy from the cupboard and was scared to tell his Mom.

"Sure thing... as long as you don't tell Rick... he'll kill you... with chickens." She joked Gray smiled and nodded. She had to admit, when he smiled he was so cute and in a way he would have been preferable to Rick, but there was no point in thinking about it.

"I'm sorry, I mean I like Mary, she's such a sweetheart. But you're so beautiful and clever and funny..." Gray said dreamily.

"I'm really none of those things... well maybe beautiful." She joked. "But Mary is great and if I can learn to love Rick, you can learn to love Mary."

"You're right." Gray said grinning. Karen smiled and gave him a big hug, she could almost see Gray resisting the temptation to kiss her. They parted just as Popuri walked in grinning.

"You're room is ready good luck!" Popuri said giggling. Karen winked and watched as Gray's ears turned red.

Karen headed over to the poultry farm, to her wedding night. She shuddered, last time waking up to Rick had been a nightmare and she wondered if she could get over it. Recalling the night of her drunken mistake that had almost ruined her relationship with Jack was painful. She arrived at the door and hesitated, wouldn't it just be easier to run? Suddenly the door opened and Lillia stood there smiling.

"I'm going to stay with Kai and Popuri for tonight. See you tomorrow." She said with a wink. She was carrying a small fluffy pink bag which Karen assumed contained everything she would need for her stay. Karen grinned weakly, it made her feel a little sick that everyone knew and was anticipating what would happen tonight. Lillia smiled again from ear to ear then hurried down the road, leaving the door wide open. _"Nothing to do now but go in."_ Karen thought. She stepped through the door and walked slowly up the stairs.

She walked into the bedroom that would be hers and Rick's for the remainder of her life. The room was decorated beautifully, Popuri had really outdone herself. There were roses decorating the room, pink ones, white ones and red ones. Rose petals had been scattered over the bed, making it look like a sheet made of roses. Silk ribbons had been tied around the stem of every rose and small bows had been attached around the ceiling. Small pink and red candles were put on every shelf and were currently being lit by Rick. He had a sheepish grin on his face, glowing with anticipation. Karen was overpowered by the beauty of the room, which made all her fears melt away.

"Hey sweetie." Rick said, trying to sound seductive but failing miserably.

"Hey Rick. The room looks beautiful, Popuri really outdid herself." Karen said, smelling that the candles were rose scented.

"Well it's a beautiful room for a beautiful girl." Rick told her. Karen almost laughed, but decided it wasn't quite the right thing to do.

"Erm, thanks." She said nervously. Rick stepped over to her and wrapped his arms gently around her, kissing her neck softly. This was it, this was her wedding night.

* * *

Don't worry i'm not going to freak you guys out with the details of the wedding night... i mean Rick and Karen... no one needs those images! 


	16. Married Life

So here's the morning after the wedding, no descriptions of the night here either.

To answer some reviews again:

DoubleKK: Well no i wasn't planning on having Karen jump off Mother's hill... good idea though... Well this chapter the whole KarenxRick thing starts to go downhill (if it was ever uphill) and then... well you'll see. But i swear it won't last.

Kumiko Katawa: Well as you can read... yeah Karen didn't stop the wedding... poor her. Ooh, a story of your own eh? Well i'll have to read that and review :).

Thanks again guys!

* * *

16. Married life

Karen blinked, it was morning and she was lying in bed with Rick wrapped around her. Birds were singing and the atmosphere was so calm, but a nervous calm, like the calm before a storm. She yawned, and shifted away from Rick, all she wanted to do was have a shower. She felt so unclean, like she had done the wrong thing. She unwrapped Rick from around her and shifted to the edge of the bed, Rick stirred.

"Morning sweetie." He said, kissing her on the cheek. She cringed but he didn't seem to notice.

"Morning. I'm gonna go get dressed and have a shower..." She told him, sitting up.

"Alright, but how about first you go make me some breakfast. I'd love some scrambled eggs on toast." He said pointing at the door.

"Excuse me?" Karen asked shocked, she hoped desperately that he was joking.

"Well we should start as we mean to continue... and the wife's place is in the kitchen... so..." He said. Karen's jaw dropped, he had to be joking. He couldn't mean what he was saying.

"Come again?" She asked, checking for a final time that he wasn't serious. Rick sighed impatiently.

"Look if I'm going to work to bring the food, you have to make the food and as my new wife you should make me some breakfast... I'm hungry." He told her, he sounded as though he were talking to a four year old.

"As your new wife, I feel it's fair to warn you that I'll divorce you in a second if you keep saying that." She said angrily. Rick looked disgusted, and she folded her arms.

"Look let's not argue, you go and have your shower. I'm going to go and feed the chickens. When I come back I expect food." He said, shoving some clothes on. He then stormed out of the door. Karen stared blankly at the door, her eyes filled with angry tears, this was not how she'd imagined her first day of marriage. She headed to the shower and turned it on, she then tested the water to see if it was hot. The warm water wouldn't seem to wash the dirt away, no matter how hard she scrubbed and she was scrubbing hard. Her tears were mixing with the water as she cried, how dare Rick treat her like that.

After she dressed she headed down the stairs and began to cook the eggs. She had no idea why she was submitting to him, ordinarily she would have told him to stuff it, but suddenly she felt so powerless. He was her husband and she'd been taught it was the wife's duty to take care of him. She finished cooking the eggs and placed them delicately onto a plate, laying the table so a napkin was placed neatly by the side along with knives and forks. Rick then strolled in humming a happy tune and he smiled to see his breakfast on the table. He sat down and gestured for Karen to sit down and eat breakfast too. While he ate he didn't saw a word to her so they ate in silence. After the meal Karen cleaned up the plates while Rick reclined on the couch. Shaking with anger, she finished clearing up and headed over to sit down next to him.

"Rick... you didn't mean what you said, did you?" She asked timidly.

"Course." He grunted. She felt her eye twitch as she struggled to remain calm.

"But Honey, you can't expect it to be like that... I mean... I'm happy to cook you meals on occasion, in fact a lot of the time, but I don't expect you to force me to make you breakfast first thing in the morning..." She said, trying to find a basis for her argument.

"What do you mean, if I work all day and my moms gonna continue to run the shop, your job is to cook and clean. Marriage is a partnership." He told her. Suddenly she felt stupid and the basis for her argument seemed to fade.

"You're right. Sorry Honey, I'm just tired." She said, giving up. Rick smiled contently, he'd won.

"Sure sweetie. Why don't you go for a walk and calm down? I've got to clean the chicken pens." He said. Karen nodded and slipped on a coat. She then stepped outside and breathed in the fresh air. She walked over to the inn, she needed her friends to reassure her that Rick had been right. She knew she couldn't just take his word for it, he was wrong to order her about. She found Ann and Popuri lying on Ann's bed talking, they had a basket of cookies and three glasses of milk out, they'd been expecting her.

"Hey Karen, how was last night?" Ann asked slyly, a stupid grin on her face.

"Fine." Karen said unenthusiastically. Ann and Popuri shrugged her lack of caring off and exchanged excited glances.

"Erm, Popuri I have to ask you, in the morning did Kai tell you to make breakfast?" She asked. Popuri shook her head and grinned dreamily.

"No, he went downstairs and brought me up pancakes." She said, drooling at the memory.

"Okay, but now, you cook him breakfast every morning right?" She asked. Popuri shook her head and smiled again.

"No, we made a deal, he cooks breakfast because he's so good at it and I cook everything else, because he works and I don't."

"Oh... because this morning Rick told me to cook him breakfast and when I refused to be ordered around by him, he told me it was my job because he works and I don't." Karen said angrily. Popuri furrowed her brow and shook her head.

"That's not right. He should cook at least one meal for you and you can do the housework if you don't work." She said. Karen smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, don't let him take advantage of you Kar, make him cook you breakfast." Ann said winking. Karen smiled, glad that her friends were so understanding.

"Thanks guys, I'll tell him." She replied with determination, no man would push her around. She then enjoyed the comfort of chatting with her friends whilst wondering what Rick was doing.

"Hey Karen, do you want lunch here or do you wanna go home and cook for Rick?" Ann asked smiling. Karen grinned maliciously.

"Let's let him cook his own lunch. Can I eat here?"

"Of course, I'll go cook, you guys can stay here."

"Thanks Ann." Popuri and Karen chorused.

After a proper lunch Karen trudged home, unwilling to face Rick again. She found him angrily clearing up his plate after eating what she guessed had been a sandwich.

"Where in God's name have you been?" He demanded. Karen looked at him worriedly, why was he so angry?

"Out walking like you told me to." She said calmly.

"For four hours?" He asked incredulously, spit flying out of his mouth. She nodded coolly and helped him to wash up his plate.

"Look, I had lunch with Ann. I was still angry about you ordering me to make you breakfast... really not a great start to our first day of marriage. So can we make a deal, I was thinking that you could make breakfast since you have to get up to feed the chickens anyway and I can make lunch and dinner and do the housework." She suggested hopefully. Rick looked angry for a second and then calmed down, he nodded slowly.

"Fine. Popuri did tell me that that worked well with Kai and her, so... fine. I'm sorry sweetie." He said sweetly.

"Me too." She said smiling. "Oh well tomorrow's a new start, it should be better."

"Yeah, for now let's just have a nice peaceful dinner."

"Yeah, I'll go make it honey."

"Thanks sweetie."

"Uh-huh." Karen said turning on the oven. After having some well made pasta that's deliciousness surprised even Karen they went to bed. The first day of marriage had been terrible, but she hoped in the future it'd get better. After all, it had to... right?

The next day she set about cleaning the house, Lillia had moved back in and was glad to no longer have to do the housework. Karen hoped that the relaxation would help her to heal better, so maybe she could live a good long time. She was a good mother-in-law and she continued to run the shop, while Karen tried to get the hang of cleaning. Every so often she had had to clean her room, but that was nothing compared to cleaning a whole house for the first time.

First the vacuum cleaner backfired sending dust flying all over the house, then she found them to be completely out of polishes so she had to go out and buy new ones and to top it off when Rick came home he trailed mud all over the house. Finally when the cleaning day was finished she collapsed into bed, she wouldn't have to clean for another week. But then came the washing and the ironing and more cooking, she was wondering how much more she could take of being a housewife.

Rick was still refusing to help her and she was becoming sick of him already. She wondered how long it would take until her life became on big rut, all routine and nothing new happening, and that scared her. She realised that she needed to find a hobby that would become her thing to do when she wasn't being a housewife, so she decided she would go out and find it.

For a whole week she tried out different hobbies. First of all she tried bird watching, but she got bored searching for the rare brown-crested tit. When she found it she watched it for a few hours, before discovering it was truly the most boring thing she could do. Then she tried reading books, which originally she enjoyed, before discovering that the town library only held one or two good books. Next she tried finding herbs, but really identifying different plants was not her cup of tea, she'd always found it boring when Basil talked to her about it. She tried joining her Mom's hobby, the gossip group, but she found their tedious bitching annoying. So in the end she began to give up, finding something for her just wasn't working. At the end of a long day's hobby finding she collapsed into bed, tired and miserable.

"Rick, I need a hobby." She whined.

"I'll say..." Rick joked, Karen's face went sour. "Still no luck, huh?"

"Nope."

"You could work at the poultry farm and help me with the chickens or my Mom with the selling." He said. Karen made a face, hating his idea. Being a chicken farmer was worse than death.

"No, the point of this is it's something for me... you know... a non-marriage thing." She said. Rick looked a little hurt but he nodded understandingly.

"A "you thing"? Well I don't know, I've always just been content with my chickens and you... what did you used to do before." He asked. Karen shrugged, she used to just be content with hanging out with her friends and festivals.

"Oh well, try again tomorrow." He said yawning. He then turned the light off and rolled over to sleep.

"I will." Karen told herself before lying down to sleep.

The next day she walked frantically through the streets of Mineral town, making her final attempts to find a hobby. After hours of no luck she gave up, it seemed she'd be _just _a housewife forever. She headed home glumly, but couldn't face going in there having failed in finding a hobby. She then looked over at Jack's old farm, still no one had bought it, sighing she entered.

The once beautiful grassy ground was bare and stumps and weeds lurked everywhere. Rocks had caused plenty of damage to the farm house and littered the ground. She sat on a fence and observed it some more, she found it sad that it would become even more of a wreck over time. The finally, when the new owner came, they would have the problem of overcoming the damage done to the farm. She wished she could have it now, just to fix it up and return it to its former glory. Suddenly her eyes widened, she'd found her hobby, fixing up Jack's beloved farm. Grinning she hurried to the Mayor's house to request that she be allowed to fix up the farm.

Luckily the Mayor was almost always in his house, being a person of little interest and much laziness, he never really left. She found him reclined on a small and dirty couch listening to the radio.

"Ahem." She coughed, making the Mayor jump up, his tall red hat hitting the ceiling. His glasses fell off the end of his tomato shaped nose and he hurried to find them on the floor. Karen picked them up and handed them to him and he placed them back on his strange shaped nose.

"Ah Karen, what can I do for you?" He asked, sitting back comfortably on his couch and running a hand through his odd, greasy hair.

"Erm, you know Jack's old farm?" She asked shuffling her feet nervously.

"Oh of course my dear, big tragedy, and the farm is in disarray, no one will buy it how it is. Quite sad really, quite sad." He said nodding his head back and forth, like one of those little car dogs. Karen found herself nodding too.

"Yeah, but I was wondering... if maybe... you know I could maybe fix up the farm. Maybe return it to its former glory, just as a hobby." She suggested hopefully, fixing him with big, doe eyes. The Mayor's eyes widened and then he smiled, to Karen's relief.

"Why Karen, that'd be wonderful! A great service to the town! In fact the farm will be your property... seeing as... hmmm." He said sadly, she knew he was thinking about Jack. "So you decide who we sell to, if we sell to anyone."

"Oh thank you Thomas!" Karen exclaimed throwing her arms around him joyfully.

"I'll make the farm beautiful again... you'll see! Thank you, thank you, thank you." She squealed happily. The Mayor nodded kindly and then sat further into the couch.

"Well go ahead and start."

"I will."

"Okay then."

"Right."

"Bye."

"Bye."

After the awkward conversation Karen headed over to the farm, she had a lot of work ahead of her, but it'd be worth it. She also felt like it was her duty, since Jack was dead, that she should fulfil his Grandpa's dream. She'd known him personally, a kind man who'd always given her treats whenever she popped around to visit. She remembered one time when he'd let her ride his horse and when she fell off and cried he then gave her a beautiful doll to make her feel better. So it was time she gave him something back.

"Jack and Jack's Grandpa, this is for you." She whispered. She then went into Jack's house to find some tools. It was completely empty and filled with dust and cobwebs, it was haunting how silent it was. Everything was gone except for an old toolbox and tools. The box had moved and she wondered if one of the town members had taken the box and then thought better of it. Soon she discovered why, the tools were all rusty and incredibly heavy. She sighed, this was going to be harder than she'd thought. She decided she'd first start with the weeding, she spent all day pulling hard at the weeds and finally they were all cleared, she smiled at her work.

That night she collapsed into bed and drifted off while Rick described his day to her, bit by bit. When he realised she was asleep he shook her awake quickly.

"What? What? Where's the fire?" She asked jumping up.

"Nothing. I just wanted to ask you about _your _day sweetie." He said smiling.

"You woke me up for that?" She snarled grumpily. Rick nodded innocently.

"Fine." She said sitting up in bed. Rick smiled and snuggled up in the blankets.

"Well the Mayor gave me the farm, so I get to choose who it's sold to. So my hobby is to fix up the farm. Okay honey?" She asked, wondering if Rick would be angry that she was fixing up Jack's old farm. She looked over and found that he was fast asleep, grumbling she switched off the bedside lamp and fell back to sleep.

The next day however, she found to her dismay, that some of the weeds that she had so gallantly slaughtered had grown back. Her hard work undone! Snarling she picked up the weeds that had fought back and chucked them into a compost heap. That was the easy job. Next she took the rusty, heavy axe and started hacking away at the smaller stumps. Putting the lumber in the lumber shed, she'd need it later to fix any damages. After hours of work she sat down for a lunch break. Smiling she spotted Ann and Popuri heading over with a picnic basket of goodies.

"Hey, Rick told us where you'd be, we brought you some lunch." Popuri said, putting the basket on the ground.

"You're doing a good job." Ann said approvingly.

"Thanks." Karen said wiping the sweat from her forehead. She collapsed down on the picnic basket and helped herself to the sandwiches inside. Ann and Popuri joined her, wolfing down the entire contents of the picnic basket.

"So what are your plans?" Ann asked surveying the farm.

"Well first I'll get rid of all the stuff on the ground. Then I'll sell some of the herbs I've found around here, then hopefully I'll be able to ditch these old tools and buy some new ones." Karen said after gulping down some pineapple juice.

"Won't Rick give you some money?" Popuri asked. Karen shook her head.

"I'm not even going to ask him. He won't dish out money for me to restore my ex's farm. Besides this is an independent project, so I'll manage on my own. Besides, I think I'll start growing some crops in the summer, so I can earn some money back." She told them excitedly.

"But won't you neglect your housework?" Popuri asked worriedly. Karen was about to say who cares but she thought better of it, Popuri was obsessed with being a good housewife.

"No, I'm gonna take Saturday and Sunday off to be a housewife." She told her.

"So when are you gonna have time for us?" Ann demanded. Karen sighed, she didn't have time.

"Why don't you visit me on the farm and help? It'll be fun." Karen coaxed, thinking of getting free lunches everyday.

"That sounds great, to have a picnic in the fresh air everyday!" Popuri exclaimed. Ann agreed, they liked the idea of being even more like country gals.

"Sounds great. But Karen if you're going to be a proper farmer you can't wear the clothes you have now!" Ann said looking at Karen's jean shorts and purple jacket with white cotton shirt.

"Why not?" Karen asked, her clothes seemed fine to her.

"You'll end up ruining them! Leave it to me and Poe, we'll have you some farmers clothes made in a jiffy. Popuri grinned and nodded and Karen smiled, her friends were the best! A few days later Popuri and Ann arrived at the poultry farm with her farm outfit. Karen grinned when she saw it, it was perfect. They were some purple dyed dungarees with a blue cotton shirt. They also presented her with big farmer boots which Karen thought would be great for squashing the rebellious weeds.

A month of work later the farm looked a lot better. The ground was completely clear and Karen was growing some pineapples as summer had arrived. The weather was hotter and there was more work to do, but it was getting easier. After using the tools for so long Karen was beginning to look well toned and she was a lot stronger, perhaps, she mused, stronger than Rick. Farming was great for the body and the soul as it took away any of her stress built up by Rick.

Their relationship was not going well and she still found it hard to juggle the housework and the farm. But she made sure the farm always took priority as it always made her feel better. Once the pineapples were fat and juicy she could sell them and buy new and better tools. She hadn't even had to buy the seeds, because Won gave them to her for free during golden service time, what a great store! Zack had grinned to her and told her later that no one else got anything free, apparently beauty pays. She was beginning to realise why Jack had always been so happy, the farm was amazing, seeing what she'd achieved every day made her feel incredibly contented.

Karen wandered home from the farm after yet another hard day's work, the pineapples were harvested and she would soon buy the better tools, perhaps even a fishing rod! Fishing sounded great, to relax by a lake for hours just waiting for something to bite... okay so it sounded a little boring, but fish! With the better tools she could finally remove the big stumps and the big rocks from her field and then she could pay for the repairs to the farmhouse. She arrived at the door and walked in, she found Lillia collapsed on the couch barely breathing.

"Lillia? LILLIA!" She shouted, praying that her mother-in-law wasn't dead. She picked her up quickly, collapsing under the weight. She determinedly hurried to the hospital, trying not to drop her. Her back was aching and sweat was pouring down her face, her heart beating fast. Zack spotted her heading carrying Lillia and jogged over to her.

"Karen, is Lillia alright?" Zack asked worriedly.

"I... don't know." Karen told him gasping for breath. Zack took Lillia out of her arms with the slightest amount of effort, lifting around produce all day sure came in handy. He had huge muscles and could easily carry delicate Lillia. Karen gasped for breath, a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"To the hospital!" She announced and they began to head quickly there. Zack flung open the door and placed Lillia on the bed shouting "Doctor!"

"What seems to be the matter?" The Doctor asked calmly, then he spotted Lillia and his grey eyes widened. "Oh dear god."

"I found her collapsed on the couch. I don't know how long she'd been like that..." Karen said worriedly.

"Elli, come quick, it's Lillia, I think she's gone into a state of paralysis. She's just about breathing." The Doctor said. Karen gazed worriedly at Lillia, she had gone deathly pale. Her eyes were shut down hard and her body had gone completely stiff. The Doctor injected her with some amber coloured fluid and he opened her eyes and checked them.

"She's stopping breathing, she'd going to need some help, attach her to the respirator." The Doctor shouted. Elli obediently wheeled through a large machine with big pumps either side. She placed a mask over Lillia's mouth and some plastic tubes in her nose.

"Karen, I think it's best you leave this to us. Go and find Rick and Popuri, tell them their mother is here."

"Right," Karen nodded and hurried off through the streets. She hadn't realised how late it was getting, it was already turning dark. The mild summer air swept across her skin gently, tickling her lightly. She hurried into the inn and found Rick gulping down a bottle of wine.

"Rick, it's Lillia, she's become paralysed." Karen told him, Rick's eyes widened and he stood up immediately. He'd drunk a lot and he was a little bit tipsy.

"Rick, are you drunk?" Karen asked angrily. Rick hiccupped and nodded.

"I'm going to Mom!" He announced almost falling over. Karen sighed angrily and headed over to find Popuri. She was at home having dinner with Kai, and when Karen told her, tears began to form in her big red-brown eyes.

"But she'll be alright?" Popuri asked, her eyes begging someone to tell her that everything would be alright.

"I don't know." Karen told her and Popuri began to cry harder. "I'm sure she'll be fine." Karen said quickly. Popuri smiled and they headed off to the hospital.

They waited until the early hours of the morning before the Doctor gave them any news. He walked out, big bags under his eyes, he looked exhausted.

"She's alive." He said, but he didn't sound hopeful. He made it sound like she wouldn't be alive much longer. Elli then came out looking equally miserable and tired.

"She's still paralysed, she's in a sort of coma. All we can do now is pray." She told them. Popuri began to cry into Kai's shoulder and Rick began to cry too. There was a huge lump in Karen's throat, she felt as though she couldn't breathe. For years Lillia had been the mother she'd always wanted, but now she was dying. They had all known her illness would make her die young, but no one had expected this to happen so soon. They walked into the room where Lillia lay motionless, as good as dead. Popuri and Rick hugged their mother and Karen saw the exact moment, the Iris children gave up hope.

They left the hospital heart-broken and tired, Kai then went around the town to tell people the news. Karen tucked Rick into bed and gave him a mug of hot chocolate, she then kissed him on the cheek and told him she was heading over to the goddess pond. He didn't seem to care, his whole life had seemed to fall away when he saw his mother on the hospital bed. Karen fed the chickens, because she knew Rick wouldn't remember as he was too miserable. She then headed over to the goddess pond. She sat on the dewy grass and pulled out a flower. She threw it onto the water and watched it float there for a while. She then looked over at the water and began to pray for Lillia.

"Please Goddess, don't let her die, let her heal. You took Jack from me, please don't take Lillia too." Karen moaned crying. The water continued to babble serenely. No mystical appearance of the goddess, nothing to bring great hope in Karen's heart.

"Well thank you." Karen murmured, unsure of what to say next. She stood up, brushing the grass from her shorts. She hoped desperately that Lillia wouldn't die, she couldn't take another death of someone so close to her. She couldn't stand Rick and Popuri suffering too.

Popuri was such a sensitive girl, if her mother died so early in her life it would make her completely crazy. She wouldn't be able to get over it, Karen shuddered at the thought. When she was completely distraught, Popuri had been the one to cheer her up, her constant cheerfulness was partly what made people love her. Without that she would cease to be Popuri. Karen broke down into tears.

"Goddess, you bring Lillia back! Please!" Karen begged. A wind stroked Karen's cheek gently, seemingly to tell her that her wish would be granted.


	17. Can We Get Through This?

Hey guys, well here's another chapter, and thanks guys for reviewing:

Kumiko Katawa: Hey, lol, okay keep telling yourself it's not true... it works with me sometimes. Erm no girl version, but I am gonna introduce a new character, just cos i feel like it. Hmm well as for the divorce, you're gonna have to see. Your story's good, thank you for reviewing so much on my story, keep going with yours, i like it so far.

Jen the Idiot: Yeah i do pity Popuri and sort of pity Rick, but i'm not sure he really deserves pity in this chapter...

GeneralDragon: Err...there's a Jack and Karen C2 community?... Cool! Thanks for reviewing.

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17. Can we get through this?

Karen swung her shining new hoe against the soil again, taking out her frustration on the dirt, making huge dents in the earth as though it should suffer just as much as her. Rick hadn't left his bed since they had left the hospital that fateful day. Popuri had been little better, leaving her room only for meals. Karen had had to work overtime, dealing with the farm, feeding Rick and taking care of the chickens. She had far less time to work on the farm, and it was starting to show. She was neglecting all of her responsibilities and only doing each job as best she could manage.

Through Rick's carelessness one chicken had already died, so Karen had made the best of it, by well... cooking it. She had served Rick roast chicken claiming it was turkey, Rick was so depressed that he didn't even question it. She swung her hoe hard at the ground again, narrowly missing a mole that had popped up to see what the disturbance was. She finished hoeing the ground and sprinkled some grass seeds over the disturbed ground. She was planning to grow a big field of grass, which she could cut when it was fully grown and sell as fodder. She put down the hoe, leaning it against the doghouse that used to belong to Happy. She then picked up a sickle and began swinging it ruthlessly at the weeds. Tears trickled down as she swung; swinging harder each time until eventually she fell on the ground crying.

She put her tools away and sat on the ground, moaning. She felt like ripping her hair out, when had her life turned so bad again? She stood up and brushed the dirt off her farming outfit. That was all the farming she could manage for the day. It was about lunch time and she headed home. She put the kettle on, and took off her clothes, dumping them in the wash basket, it was almost the weekend, the two housework days. She had a quick shower and changed, and then she poured the boiled water from the kettle into a pot.

She poured herself and Rick a cup of tea and added sugar and milk, hot sweet tea was the best medicine for depression in her opinion. She then found a packet of chocolate biscuits, tea and chocolate biscuits were an even better medicine. She walked up the stairs with a tray and found Ann sitting on the bed trying to cheer Rick up. Ann looked frustrated, but she didn't have to deal with it every day.

"Karen, I'm sorry I can't cheer him up! I couldn't cheer Popuri up either!" She said sounding incredibly stressed. Karen sighed, fresh tears falling down her face again.

"Can we get through this?" Karen asked. Ann shrugged, she had no idea.

"I'm so sorry Karen, this must be so hard for you. I'm going to spend my days off helping you okay? I know you're really busy." Ann said, her big blue eyes were filled with worry.

"Thanks Ann, it means a lot." Karen told her. Ann smiled weakly, the most anyone could manage at that point in time. Ann nodded and picked the tea off the tray and handed it to Rick, who was sitting silently staring into space.

"When was the last time he spoke to you?" Ann asked, looking worriedly from Rick to Karen.

"Um..." Karen thought back. "I think it was a few days ago, when I told him the chicken had died. He said "oh"."

"Oh god." Ann said. Karen nodded, things were really bad.

"Have you heard anything about Lillia?" Ann asked. Karen shook her head, Lillia had been in a coma, with no change in her condition.

"Elli and the Doctor are doing all they can. The Doctor must have tried every medicine known around here, but really the only medicine effective enough will be time and even that may just kill her." Karen said and Ann clapped her hand over her mouth. The thought of Lillia dying so young scared everyone, it would leave a taint on the village forever.

"What about that flower her husband went to get?" Ann asked hopefully. Karen looked cynically at her.

"There was never any point of him running off over a stupid fairy tale. Flowers don't cure people, medicines and doctors do." Karen told her, looking sceptical.

"I don't know... maybe they can make a medicine from the flower..." Ann suggested.

"Anyway, as far as anyone can tell Rod Iris isn't coming back and even if he is, it probably won't be for a long time." Karen said. Ann shuddered at how cold Karen's words were.

"Karen, I think you need a break." Ann told her. Karen nodded and raised her eyebrows. She was silent for a minute, trying to bottle up all her feelings, but there was too much pressure, she was about to explode.

"Of course I need a break! But I can't have one as long as Rick is being a lazy arse and Lillia is half-dead can I? And you don't help, you say you will but you won't. You're busy enough as it is without our problems! So of course I _need _a break, but I can't have one. Rick start talking because I know you can hear me... you... you..." Karen shouted. All her feelings had come out in one big burst and she was breathing fast, trying to calm down. Rick just continued to stare into space, completely unaffected, making Karen burst into tears. Ann stared at her in pity and then hugged her tightly, and Karen just cried into Ann's shoulder.

"Things aren't going to get better for a while, are they?" Karen said when she emerged from Ann's shoulder.

"No." Ann admitted. "But we'll manage somehow... we always do."

Karen spent the weekend cleaning up the house, with regular intervals of crying and screaming into a pillow. Things weren't getting easier and Lillia's condition wasn't changing. Karen was sick of Rick making her feel miserable, so that night she had decided that she would take him to the inn and leave him there to be social and relax. It was a bad idea. Rick came back completely hammered, he began trying to pick a fight with Karen, he blamed her for his mother's illness and he kept calling her "slut" or "whore".

After a night of abuse she slept on the couch, ready to hurry over to the farm as quickly as possible in the morning. Tired and angry she drowned the plants with water, almost hacked down the apple tree and hoed up her entire field so no one could walk through it. Finally, exhausted, she collapsed on the ground near the river. She took off her trainers and flexed her sore toes. She pulled of her damp, warm socks and dipped her feet into the lake. The cool lake chilled them immediately and she let out a relaxed sigh. That was better. She wiggled her toes in the water, letting the relaxation seep over, what was she going to do? She sighed again, but this time not with relaxation, with anger.

How could Rick have changed so much, so many different times? In marriage he had become as bad as he was when she and Jack were dating. Jack and her dating... That seemed like such a long time ago, it was so far away. She had been had been happy then, that had been the best year of her life. She clenched her toes together hard, hearing the bone click, reminiscing never helped anything. She pulled her feet out of the water and allowed them to dry in the warm summer air. She then slipped on her socks and shoes and continued working on the farm.

Karen hadn't realised it was dark yet, she had been too busy trying to repair her farm, but ended up damaging it more. She tiptoed into the house and quickly dressed for bed. She found Rick collapsed on the bed, snoring loudly. She breathed a sigh of relief and slipped into bed, jumping as Rick stirred.

"What time do you call this Karen?" Rick demanded angrily. She smelt alcohol on his breath and began to panic, he may be scrawny but when he was drunk he was dangerous.

"Um... well... midnight... but... I can explain..." Karen stuttered, darting out of bed and backing against the wall.

"Can you really? You..." He started, then he began shouting violent abuse. She cowered in the corner, like a small child, frightened and defenceless.

"I'm sorry... I just... worked late at the farm..." She told him weakly. Rick sneered, despicable in his drunken rage.

"Oh really. I knew I should never have let you take over your ex-boyfriends tip." He said smirking. Why was he smiling?

"Why...why?" Karen stuttered, rocking back and forth in the corner. Rick laughed, she knew why. Seeing her unprotected gave him power, her weakness made him strong, he was in control now.

"Why don't you apologise to me?" He said feeling under the mattress. She frowned, why was he looking under there?

"I'm sorry." She told him meekly. He chuckled and pulled a shining silver knife from the mattress.

"You know, that doesn't quite do it for me... why don't you beg... yeah... beg for your life." He said stepping over to her. Karen stared at the knife, the metals glint shining in her eyes. Karen went onto her knees, tears trickling from her eyes.

"Please Rick... don't... please." She pleaded her voice high and squeaky. He smiled, savouring her weakness. He watched the tears with satisfaction and knelt down in front of her. He wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled.

"Okay, sweetie, I won't kill you." He said casually, putting down the knife. "Why don't you get into bed and I'll go and put this knife downstairs."

Karen nodded obediently she slipped into bed and Rick kissed her on the forehead, his touch making her sick. He took the knife downstairs and when he came back he slipped into bed. He kissed her on the cheek and whispered, "Goodnight honey," into her ear. Her eyes widened with rage as he rolled over and began to snore loudly.

The next morning she woke up and blinked, remembering what had happened last night. She was surprised she had managed to sleep at all, but she guessed that was the miracle of being completely exhausted. Rick then knocked timidly at the door, smiling sheepishly.

"Good morning honey, how are you feeling?" He asked, handing her a cup of tea. She accepted it and placed it on the coffee table next to her, her hand shaking as she did so.

"It depends, how are you feeling? Like stabbing a knife through me?" She asked daringly. Rick nodded, accepting her words with remorse.

"I guess I deserve that."

"You guess?"

"Yes, I do. But please, Karen, honey, you're not going to tell anyone." He pleaded. Karen looked at him, her eyes full of wonder, was she going to tell anyone? What if Rick got drunk again, he would attack her and if she told the people of the village they could protect her. But then again, if she told people, they would know her problems, know her shame and Rick might become more violent. She weighed the odds in her mind, looking into Rick's innocent blue pools of eyes. They weren't the same eyes she'd seen last night, not the same eyes that hadn't given a damn about her.

"I... don't know." She breathed. She saw Rick's pleading smile falter.

"Wha.. what?"

"If you do it again... I'll tell the whole village... but if you don't... fine." She told him. He smiled thankfully.

"You have my word, I won't do it again." He said grinning. She nodded, unsure of his word, if he got drunk again he wouldn't control himself.

"Uh huh." She said weakly. Suddenly the phone rang and Rick jumped to answer it, trying to avoid the awkward silence that would follow his and Karen's conversation.

"Hello?"

"Hello Rick, this is Dr. Mason. Lillia has shown signs of waking up, she opened her eyes this morning. She's out of her coma, if you and Karen would like to come see her..."

"Of course we would." Rick said, sounding elated, Karen knew from his voice, Lillia was awake. Rick smiled and gave Karen a thumbs up sign and Karen nodded.

"We'll be right there." Rick told him and with that he hung up the phone.

"Get dressed, we're going to see Mom." He told her. Karen opened her mouth to retort something rude about him ordering about, but she decided against it, after all Lillia had just come out of the coma. Karen nodded and changed, watching Rick as he smiled like a child after receiving the best gift he could ever hope for on Christmas.

They arrived at the hospital and entered the room where Lillia slept peacefully. Her skin was pale and she was barely breathing at all. She looked so fragile, like a delicate butterfly lying on the ground.

"Hey Mom." Rick said softly, placing the bunch of roses he'd bought in the glass vase by her bed. Rick then bent down and kissed his mother on the forehead, and he smiled when he saw her eyes open. Lillia smiled her blue eyes twinkling, making it obvious she was feeling better.

"Hello." She said softly, her voice hoarse from not using it for a while.

"We were afraid we'd lost you for a moment there." Karen said with a smile. Lillia blinked, the news didn't surprise her, but it worried her. What if she'd died and left her two children fatherless and motherless, she couldn't bear the thought.

"I'm glad you didn't." Lillia said, squeezing Rick's hand gently. Rick smiled, happiness filling him to the brim.

"So how have you two been?" Lillia asked kindly. Rick and Karen exchanged worried glances, not good.

"Oh you know fine," Karen lied, "found it hard without you though."

"Well I'm glad you've been managing." Lillia said with a smile. Karen pursed her lips and nodded, how could she tell her mother-in-law that her only son had been abusing her? Just then Popuri ran in happily, and dived into her mother's arms.

"Mommy!" She shouted happily, kissing her Mom on the cheek. Karen smiled happily at the scene, the children united with their mother, but she knew she didn't fit.

"I'm gonna go get some fresh air and leave you guys to talk, I've got the chickens to feed and the farm to take care of, so I'll get back to you later." Karen told them. Rick smiled, obviously appreciating that Karen hadn't told his Mom about their problems. Karen gave him a weak smile back and headed to do her daily chores.

When she arrived back home, Rick was spread out on the couch reading a newspaper, he smiled at her when she entered. Karen nodded, noting his presence before getting ready for bed.

"Umm, Karen..."

"Hmmm?"

"Thank you."

"Mmmm." Karen replied absent-mindedly. After she was all washed and changed she headed into the kitchen to cook their dinner, she found Rick cooking them spaghetti bolognaise and smiled appreciatively.

"How come you're cooking?" She asked setting down the place mats on the table. Rick smiled sheepishly, stirring the pasta sauce.

"Well it's the least I could do, Kar. I know I've been a jerk this week and I hope we can forget it." He said hopefully. Karen thought for a moment, knowing she had to forgive him. But she didn't want to, he'd been so different, so evil the past week.

"Sure." She said shrugging, forcing down her wish to yell at him. He smiled and dished up the pasta, handing her a warm plate. They sat down at the table and began to dig in.

"So erm... Dr. Mason says Mom can be released in a couple of days, so we're gonna need to take care of her at home for a while, so I was wondering if you could wash the sheets in her room." He asked. Karen swallowed the pasta down hard and nodded, gritting her teeth.

"Sure, I'm... um... glad she's coming back."

"Yeah, but I need to ask you a huge favour... I mean I know I haven't been the best husband but..."

"You don't want me to tell her about our problems, don't worry its fine I..."

"No, I know you won't do that... it's not that... I um... I need you to stop working at the farm for a while... just until Mom has fully recovered, so you can... you know take care of her." He said timidly, Karen's face remained blank. She willed herself to say something, but she couldn't, the anger was taking over.

"Karen?"

"Hmmm... no sorry Rick, I've put too much work into the farm to let it go again, I'm sorry but you're going to have to take care of her yourself. It seems to me you have far more free time than me, so you do it. I'm busy Rick." She told him, trying to keep calm. His face twisted in anger. He looked like he was about to say something but changed his mind, he just pointed at the door.

"Gladly." Karen told him and she headed out of the door. She headed angrily out along the street, breathing in the warm summer air muttering under her breath. She heard the door slam and saw Rick head off somewhere, probably the hospital. Well what did she care if he ratted on her to his dearest mother? She snorted and kicked a stone along the road, she wondered if she should go to church and talk to Carter, but she just couldn't tell him that her marriage was failing. She couldn't think of one good moment they'd had since they walked down the aisle, even the marriage had been a failure. Why did she marry him? Was it really better than dying along, she shrugged, it was possible.

She headed over to the farm and sat it Jack's old home, the only place where the memories were truly good. She remembered the times when she'd had dinner with him there, the times she'd truly messed up the relationship, but he'd always saved it. He'd been the stability that she needed, the person she could trust, it wasn't like her life hadn't been stable. In fact it had been so stable it was monotonous, a continuous boring routine. But with Jack life had been exciting, but safe and good, like a flame contained on the wick of the candle, still fiery and passionate, but more beautiful because it had no rage, just dancing.

She smiled, sitting on the dusty floorboards, all the furniture she had loved was gone, stolen by the people she loved. She gulped, she felt happy and sad at the same time, her life lay in utter turmoil, but she still had the good memories. They were so good and yet so painful, she could never get back what she'd lost. She sighed, breathing in a mouthful of dust and choking. She stood up and headed outside, she was so proud of the work she had done, the farm was almost as beautiful as it had once been. But to her it would never be as beautiful, not without him.

She then headed over to the church, this time not to see Carter, but someone more special to her. She sat in front of the gravestone, the one that lay over no body. It shone in the moonlight, filling her with tranquillity and pain. She read the name on the tombstone, running her hand over the carving.

_Jack Hunter, 1984-2005. Kind son and loving boyfriend, nothing will replace you in our lives._

Karen frowned, _nothing will replace you_, she read it over and over again.

"If I really ever believed that, then why did I marry Rick?" She asked the tombstone. "Why can't anyone replace you? I don't want to miss you anymore."

She gulped, her throat sore, if nothing could replace him why did she even bother. She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Carter, he looked solemn. She gasped, maybe he'd heard too much.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" He asked, Karen looked down, he'd definitely heard too much.

"Want?"

"Well even if you don't _want _to tell me, I'm sure you'll feel better if you do."

"I don't know."

"Well even if you don't, what harm can it do telling a friend your troubles."

"Depends how trustworthy the friend is..."

"He's very trustworthy." He assured her.

"Then no harm." Karen said sighing. Carter kneeled down next to her and gave her a hug. "You promise you won't tell a soul what I tell you."

"I promise."

"You're not gonna like it."

"Okay."

"You promise you won't overreact?"

"I promise." Carter told her again. Karen took a deep breath and told him exactly what had been happening. She watched his face twisting in anger and pity, she swore she could see a tear in his eye. When she finished they sat in silence, Carter with a sorrowful look on his face.

"Karen I am so sorry."

"Why?"

"I should never have married you." He told her, he looked so guilty. Karen laughed gently.

"I didn't know he'd do this, if I didn't know you couldn't know. I mean, sure if I'd thought about it I probably could have guessed but... I just thought he'd changed." Karen told him with a sigh.

"Karen, I have to tell someone."

"No. You promised." She shook her head panicking.

"What if he does this again?" Carter asked, worry in his eyes.

"Then I deal with it." Karen said trying to sound calm, but inside she wondered the same thing.

"What if he tries to kill you?" Carter asked, sounding even more worried. Karen opened her mouth to say, "so what life's nothing without Jack" but she realised how melodramatic that would sound.

"I told him that I wouldn't tell anyone, but that if he did it again I would. I stick to that." She told him. Carter sighed, seeing that he wasn't going to get through to her.

"Well if you ever need a place to stay, my church is always open." He told her, opening his arms wide and gesturing. Karen smiled, he was so caring, like the father she'd always needed, better than her own father who wouldn't stand up to a fly. He could give her advice and care about her feelings, but her father had always been too timid to help her.

"I'd better go, Rick'll be wondering where I am." She said shaking as she stood up. Carter smiled weakly, unwilling to let her face her abusive husband.

"Good night Karen." Carted said kissing her on the head, she smiled and turned to walk away. "And don't worry, we will get through this."

"Goddess, I hope you're right." Karen told him and she headed out into the unfeeling night. She arrived home and found Rick asleep on the sofa, _"good" _she thought, she wouldn't have to sleep in the same bed as him that night. She slid into bed and eased into her dreams, where there was no pain and best of all, no Rick.

The next day she washed Lillia's sheets and did all of her chores, today was the day they would pick up Lillia, they were planning to have a party for her that night in the inn, and after that they hoped things would go back to normal. She had to leave the farm for that day, which seemed okay as she'd harvested all her pineapples. After they were ready they headed over to the hospital and picked up Lillia in the wheelchair. She looked frail and weak, but she had a big smile on her face that showed she was definitely better.

They wheeled her home and helped her get ready for the party, letting her sleep in her freshly made bed for a while. Then they headed over to the inn, when they walked in, all the mineral town members leapt out shouting "surprise", which probably wasn't the best idea since Lillia was still weak. But she survived the fright and was wheeled over to the table. All the drinks were on the house and there was an entire table filled with food. Lillia may not have been able to see the people of mineral town that often due to her condition, but she was missed nonetheless. Karen smiled, Lillia was probably one of the most popular members of mineral town, partly because the people felt sorry for her but mainly because they'd never met anyone with a kinder heart.

The evening went well, everyone laughed and had a good time, it was the first time in ages that Karen had felt remotely happy, maybe even borderline cheerful. The only thing to spoil her evening was Rick, drinking too much and becoming rowdy, Karen could see this upset Lillia too. Ann shuffled over to Karen watching Rick worriedly.

"Karen... I didn't really want to tell you this... but I'm guessing now you already know... Rick's been coming down here a lot since Lillia's coma and... well I think he's become an alcoholic." Ann said worriedly. Karen nodded, the news didn't shock her at all, so she just nodded.

"I know." She said calmly surprising Ann.

"You do?"

Karen nodded.

"Well um... I got you these..." Ann said holding out some leaflets. Karen took one named "so you're a drunk" and swallowed.

"A rehab centre." Karen said, so it had finally come to this. Ann saw her face and placed her hand gently on Karen's shoulder.

"This is just if things get any worse Karen... don't worry you probably won't need them." Ann said, trying to sound reassuring. Karen nodded, but she couldn't see how things could get any worse. Karen heard the shattering off glass and turned around to see Rick holding a broken glass bottle. She gaped at him wide eyed.

"Hey Karen, about you refusing to be a good house wife... If you're not gonna be a good one then I don't need you." Rick slurred.

"Rick, not here." Karen hissed, it was too late, everyone was staring.

"Yes here. I want everyone to hear what a bad wife you are... so I'm gonna teach you a lesson." He slurred again, swaying on the spot. He took the glass and swiped it hard across Karen's arm. She stood for a moment, she couldn't feel any pain. Had he missed? But then she saw his smirk and the fresh blood on the bottle. She then looked down at her arm and saw dark red blood pouring from a deep wound on her arm. The room began to sway, she was losing blood fast. The blood was pouring down her arm, and she watched nauseously as Ann was placing a cloth over it. Carter stood up and walked over to Karen, patting her back.

"I'm sorry Karen, I'm going to tell everyone the truth. Doctor, could you please take Karen to the hospital and get her cleaned up. I'm sure Elli will fill you in later." Carter told the doctor. Karen frowned woozily, Carter tell the people of mineral town? She knew it was bad but suddenly she couldn't remember why. She blacked out and fainted on the ground.

Karen woke up in her old bed in her old bedroom, she looked down at her arm and saw it covered in bloody bandages. She looked around the room, it had been turned into a guestroom and it was all redone. The once bare walls were covered in flowery wall paper and pink curtains covered up the old windows. The floor was now covered in pink carpet instead of plain wooden floorboards and there was plenty of new pretty furniture. Karen wondered when her parents had had this done, they hadn't told her. Then again, she realised, she hadn't spoken to her parents much since the wedding, she'd only ever passed them on the streets. Even then they'd only said "hello" and "how are you", even when she visited the store they never seemed to have time to chat. She rolled over, her arm still painful, she wondered what had happened after she left. With an annoyed sigh she realised Carter had told them everything, but she guessed it was easier than her telling them all and evealing the horror that happened behind the closed doors of the Iris household. She wondered how Ann and Popuri would react, the fact that Karen hadn't told them. She heard a knock on the door and her parents walked in followed by Ann and Popuri.

"Hey Karen sweetie, how are you?" Sasha asked, her mascara was smudged from crying. In fact all their eyes looked worn from crying, even her dad's. She smiled to see they all cared so much.

"I'm fine, better than I look anyway." Karen said, looking down at her bandaged arm. Her visitors smiled and all took seats somewhere in the room.

"Karen, Carter told us everything. Now we're not going to accuse you for not telling us but... we need to help you now that we know." Ann told her. Karen looked worriedly at everyone, they were all nodding in agreement.

"What... what are you gonna do?" Karen stuttered. They all looked at each other and handed Karen the leaflet. Karen looked at them gaping.

"The rehab centre." She said worriedly. The others nodded, Karen flicked through it and found the price.

"Its way too expensive, we could never afford this..." Karen told them. They all nodded.

"Well we checked it out last night. We can afford to pay for the centre, but not for the whole journey. So last night we called Jack's parents..." Ann said, Karen frowned, how many other people knew.

"Jack's parents know..." Karen whined.

"Yes they do, but they care for you Karen, you remember what they told you. When Jack died you became like a daughter to them and it turns out they're actually really well-off..." Ann told her.

"Yeah really, really rich." Popuri chirped happily. Ann coughed and Popuri closed her mouth quickly.

"See it turns out this rehab centre is really near to their house, in fact it's only an hour away. So they offered to pay for you guys to get there and they said you can stay with them as long as you want." Ann told her smiling. Karen was awed by Jack's parents' generosity.

"Yeah, so it'll be like the honeymoon you never had... except with a husband in rehab..." Popuri said frowning. Karen smiled, it gave her a warm feeling inside to know that people cared and everything was going to be okay.

"Wow thank you guys, that sounds... so great! When do we leave?" Karen asked, wanting to leave as soon as possible.

"In three days, it's all booked and ready." Sasha told her. Karen grinned, soon she would be free of Rick, soon her life would be good again and soon she'd be on holiday. She smiled, this was the best news she'd heard in a long, long time.

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Yeah, i didn't have the heart to kill off Lillia, see, she's not dying! I decided instead to send Rick to rehab... which I personally like better. 


	18. Rehab Is For Quitters

Well here is the next chapter, thanks y'all for reviewing the cheesiest of big cheesy grins. Well here's the next chapter...

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18. Rehab is for quitters

Finally Karen was packed and standing on the beach, ready to take the boat over to the mainland and then get picked up by Jack's parents. She smiled, she could really do with the break and now that Ann had volunteered to take care of the farm, she had nothing to worry about. She watched Rick haul out his suitcase, smirking.

"Open it up." Karen demanded, Rick looked at her innocently.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Just do it." She told him. Rick opened it up and sure enough there sat six bottles of red wine, Mineral town's finest. Karen removed all the wine and handed it to Ann, while Rick stood there, his arms crossed sulkily.

"I'm sorry Rick, but this is for your own good." Karen told him. She smiled, now that the whole village (including Lillia) knew, she was the one in charge. She remembered the last time they were on the beach like this, only that time it was Jack leaving. She knew exactly how her friends must be feeling, but they knew she had to do this, just like Karen had known Jack had to go. She felt close to tears now, just like she had before Jack left, she was having to leave the people she loved to help someone she'd began to hate.

The boat had arrived, a big cruise ship that only very rarely brushed the shores of mineral town and that was only when they had called to arrange a stop. Karen watched as all the people already aboard marvelled at Mineral town, although it was as modern as it needed to be, to them it was almost primitive. Zack took Karen's suitcases from her and carried them onto the ship, she smirked as Zack ignored Rick and made him carry his own suitcases. It was time for the final goodbyes. Ann and Popuri dashed over and gave Karen big hugs, followed by her parents with big hugs and kisses.

"Take care of yourself Karen, remember to take your vitamins and at least six glasses of water a day." Sasha said, tears streaming from her eyes. Karen was about to retort rudely, but instead smiled and nodded, it was good to know that they cared.

"Call us at least every week Karen, don't forget us." Ann ordered.

"Yeah, and send us a postcard, I'd love to see what the outside world looks like." Popuri said smiling, her brown eyes glimmering with an image of far off places in her mind.

"It's nowhere near as beautiful as you." Kai told Popuri, making her blush the colour of her bubblegum pink hair.

"Bye guys..." Karen said, tears running down her cheeks. She took a deep breath and ascended the beautiful white ship, to leave her beloved town.

Once they were both aboard she felt the boat shake and they were moving slowly away from her beloved home. She watched as the people waved frantically, until finally they had become mere dots in the distance. She turned to Rick, who had turned a pale shade of green.

"Rick, are you feeling okay?" Karen asked, Rick nodded and then made a face. He ran to the side of the boat and threw up into the ocean. Karen groaned. "I guess not."

"You get seasick, don't you?" She said in annoyance. Rick turned round and nodded again before throwing up into the ocean. Karen shook her head slowly.

"Oh those poor, poor fish." She mumbled. Rick managed a scowl before launching up more of his stomachs contents. After about half an hour of throwing up, Karen took pity on Rick and decided to search for a cure. She spotted a large woman at the side watching Rick with a smile.

"Hi... um you wouldn't know how to cure this, would you?" Karen asked her amiably. The woman chuckled, obviously enjoying Rick's suffering, which Karen was okay with.

"Oh yeah, ma hubby used to get seasick a whole lot, just rub 'is back an' he'll feel a bit better." She told her. The woman had a very heavy American accent and sounded like she came from one of the southern states. Karen smiled at the woman thankfully and rubbed Rick on the back gently. He turned around and smiled.

"That's better." He said sounding incredibly relieved, he still looked like a reanimated corpse though.

"Why don't you go to the bathroom and get cleaned up?" Karen suggested. Rick wobbled his way to the toilets and Karen sat down on one of the cold white benches.

She was enjoying the windiness of the deck, the cool air sweeping her hair across her face. Karen swept her hair back and stood to face the wind direction, making her hair fly backwards in streams of gold. She looked over the deck and felt the cool sea spray in her face, she tasted the salt and smiled. The speed at which they crossed the water was exhilarating for her, she'd never been on a proper boat before. The nearest she'd been to riding on a boat was when Zack had taken her for a short ride on his motorboat that he used to carry produce from the town to the mainland. She suddenly had the feeling of being watched, she spun around to see the woman staring at her.

"First time on a boat?" She asked knowingly. Karen nodded.

"Uh-huh, I come from a small village and the people there barely ever travel." Karen told her. The women nodded, and heaved herself over to sit next to Karen. She was wearing a strange flowery dress that looked more like a tent and an even stranger faux fur scarf, mismatching terribly. She had short bouncy brown hair and huge piggy eyes that seemed to say "I wouldn't mind eating you".

"Yeah I saw your island, nice place. So why are ya leavin' it?" The woman asked nosily. Karen swallowed, debating whether to tell the truth, she decided against it after all this woman was a perfect stranger.

"Honeymoon, me and the seasick guy have just gotten married." Karen said nodding her head at where Rick had been throwing up.

"Honeymoon eh? Sounds nice." The woman said, sounding rather suspicious.

"Yeah, it's going to be great, seeing a bit of the world with the man I love the most." Karen said gritting her teeth together hard.

"Any marriage problems yet?" The woman asked casually, her eyes almost seeing into Karen's mind. Karen flesh began to prickle, recalling the horrible events of her married life so far.

"M...marriage...p...p...problems?" Karen asked stuttering. She swallowed hard, what did it matter what this woman thought she knew.

"Yeah you know like... is he making you do all the cooking and cleaning? Or refusing to talk to you much or heaven forbid abusing you, but of course that wouldn't happen." The woman said with a laugh. Karen forced a nervous giggle, her mind had answered "yes, yes, yes, yes" to all of the woman's questions.

"No nothing like that, marriage is great, just great... fabulous. Couldn't be better, love marriage, marriage is the best." Karen said quickly. The woman stared at her with an amused expression on her face.

"Of course it is." She said. Karen was sure she heard the woman sigh, as though she too suppressed some unvoiced feelings about marriage. Carefully avoiding the desire to voice her pain she swallowed heard, looking at the door and hoping that Rick would be back soon. Her wish was granted as he walked back onto the deck looking slightly more refreshed but still a little pale.

"Hey Rick honey, I was just telling... Mrs... erm..." Karen began, waiting for the large lady to fill in the blanks.

"Mrs Fletcher, but you can call me Maggie." The woman said, smiling amiably.

"Right, Maggie, the joys of marriage." Karen told him, giving him a cold look that warned him to keep his mouth shut. To her relief Rick took the hint and nodded.

"Yeah, it's great." He said without feeling. Karen growled under her breath, he was either a really bad liar or putting no effort into it. Karen giggled nervously and watched as Rick slumped into a bench. She edged away slowly from the woman to look over the bow, she could see a small black mound which she guessed was the mainland. As they got nearer it grew in size, astounding Karen. She'd never seen any stretch of land that big, but then again Mineral town was the only stretch of land she'd ever seen.

"Wow, we're almost there." She exclaimed, catching her breath. She could feel excitement swelling up inside her, somewhere new.

"Big deal." Rick said boredly. Karen shot a cold look at him and then continued to look over at the land mass. Finally the boat reached the dock and stopped, allowing the passengers to get out. Karen grabbed her luggage and waved goodbye to Maggie, who was eating a large chocolate bar that seemed to have manifested from nowhere.

"See ya Maggie." Karen called to her. Maggie looked back grinning, taking another bite of chocolate.

"Take care love." Maggie told her.

Finally they had arrived at the car park, waiting for Jack's parents to pick them up. Karen was pacing around worriedly, what if they'd got the wrong day, or decided they didn't want to pick her up. But that was nonsense, they had helped arrange the tickets. Suddenly a large black Mercedes pulled up and a smiling brunette woman stepped out. She pulled Karen into her arms, tears of happiness pouring down her cheeks.

"Oh Karen dear, I'm so happy to see you." Jack's Mom told her.

"I'm so happy to see you too." Karen said, tears pouring down her cheeks simultaneously. The car's engine stopped and Jack's dad stepped out. His hair was beginning to turn a dark shade of grey and he had a moustache, but other than that he was the splitting image of Jack. He had the same hairstyle, the same build, but older and the same smile. Except his eyes were pools of icy blue instead of warm comforting brown. Jack's mother had his eyes, that shone warmly onto Karen welcomingly.

"How ya doing kiddo?" Mr. Hunter asked.

"Better." Karen said with a smile. It was the best she could manage and she meant it. She was better for seeing them and better after the death of Jack, better but still not good.

"And you must be Rick..." Mrs. Hunter said kindly. Karen giggled as Mr. Hunter imitated a drunk behind Rick's back.

"Yeah." Rick said rudely as his eyebrows rose. Karen shot him a cold glare, how could he be so rude to the people who were being so kind to them?

"Right." Mr. Hunter said, obviously trying not to laugh. He opened the car door for Karen and then sat back in the front seat, leaving Rick to open his own door and load in his own luggage. Once they were all in Mr. Hunter started the car and they were off.

"How long is the journey?" Rick asked sulkily.

"About three hours dear," Mrs. Hunter told him. "But we'll have a rest stop halfway through."

"Thank you so much for doing this for me... I mean us." Karen said correcting herself. Mrs. Hunter turned back in her seat and smiled.

"Anything for you sweetie, you're like family." Mrs. Hunter told her. Karen grinned, feeling warm. There was something warm about Jack's whole family, a loving selfless glow. Karen looked at Rick in wonder, why did she marry him? She'd never seen that selfless glow on him, even when he'd claimed he loved her, why had she let herself be fooled. She sighed and rested her head back on the seat, she was trapped now.

"Something wrong sweetie?" Mrs. Hunter asked kindly. Karen quickly shook her head, she didn't want them thinking they were making her sad by reminding her of Jack.

"No, I was just thinking..." She said, before her mind wandered off again.

Soon they reached their first city and Karen stared in amazement. Tall skyscrapers towered over everything, looming over the people below. Streets were filled with car after car, each one a different shape, colour or make. She had never seen anywhere so busy, people covered the streets like ants, each with their own worries, heartaches and lives.

She had never seen anything so strange, the streets were lined with shop after shop, many different kinds of shop and many the same. But Mineral Town only needed one of each and where was the hot springs? Where were the nature, the mountains and the trees? Karen furrowed her brow, her mind spotting every difference and asking "_What's this?" _She felt like Jack Skellington having just found Christmas town. She turned to look at Rick, who seemed unaffected by the strangeness of this new world they had wandered into. Mrs Hunter spotted Karen looking amazed at the city and smiled.

"Karen dear, would you like to stop here. We were going to go to a nice countryside place but... I guess you see that every day." She said with a laugh. Karen smiled and nodded.

"Would you mind?" Karen asked excitedly.

"Not in the least. Isn't that right dear?" Mrs. Hunter asked her husband.

"Why sure. We can go to McDonalds." He said with a smile.

"Mc who's?" Karen asked, her eyes wide with interest. Mr. and Mrs. Hunter burst out laughing.

"Don't tell me you haven't heard of McDonalds!" Mr. Hunter said, with an amused expression on his face.

"Should I have? Is he important?" Karen asked, confused.

"Karen, prepare to be amazed." Mr. Hunter told her. Karen grinned, she was already completely amazed, what could amaze her more.

After stopping in McDonalds, which she found out was like the most well-known fast food restaurant in the world, they headed back on the road. Karen was amazed, the sights and smells she had experienced, this was a world she'd never seen. She'd always known Mineral town was secluded, but it was a complete contrast to the real world. After seeing nearly fifty McDonald's in the same place she was even more astounded, she felt like an alien on her own planet.

"Wow, Mineral Town is so different from anywhere else in the world!" Karen exclaimed. Mr. and Mrs. Hunter laughed again at her innocence.

"No sweetie, there are loads of places like Mineral town too. But we just went through a city. Mineral town is a pretty average town... well maybe a bit behind the times but... still alike some towns." Mrs. Hunter told her. Karen gave a sigh of relief, it was nice to know she would see some familiar territory. She glanced over at Rick again, he still looked sullen and uninterested.

"Rick, aren't you excited?" She asked, in a desperate attempt to get through to him. He shrugged.

"Rick sweetie, is everything okay?" Mrs. Hunter asked worriedly. Karen smiled at her kindness, it was amazing that she could feel compassion for the man who had married their sons ex and then ruined her life.

"I'm bloody fine okay? Leave me the hell alone." Rick shouted angrily. Mrs. Hunter looked unfazed and smiled sweetly.

"That's kind of hard since we're in a car." She giggled with a warm smile. Rick scowled and continued to look at the car floor.

"Rick, can't you be nice? Jack's parents are being unbelievably kind to you... and... and." Karen blurted out, fighting back tears.

"Aw, its okay sweetie, your hubby doesn't have to be nice on our account. But on yours it would be nice." She said, letting out a sigh. Karen shook her head.

"He should be grateful. What happened to the Rick I married?" She asked, tears beginning to flood down her cheeks. Rick turned and looked at her for the first time in the whole journey. He smiled weakly and Karen felt her heart leap with hope.

"He died." Rick said shortly and Karen felt herself crashing back down to earth. Mrs. Hunter spotted her crying and handed her a tissue, which Karen took gratefully.

"There sweetie, he's not worth your tears." Mrs. Hunter said with some difficulty. It sounded like she hadn't said anything spiteful in a long time.

Finally they arrived at the Rehab clinic. It was a large, spotlessly white building surrounded by flowers and trees. It was so colourful and beautiful and Karen could swear she saw a smile on Rick's face.

"This doesn't look so bad does it?" Karen asked Rick, worried for his happiness despite all he'd put her through. He shrugged. They stepped into the building and immediately felt the cool air conditioning and heard peaceful music. The floor was made of pale, white marble and the walls were painted pale blue and lavender, adding to the calming atmosphere. Mrs. Hunter rang the bell at the reception and was immediately greeted by a woman in a light flowery dress.

"Ah welcome, you must be Rick." She said in a floaty, ultra calm voice. Karen immediately felt soothed and calmed by her voice and standing in the amazingly calm room. She felt her troubles lifting away, giving her strength. If Rick couldn't get over his alcoholism here, he couldn't do it anywhere.

"Hi, yes." Rick said, still trying to sound grumpy. The woman smiled showing a set of perfectly straight and pearly white teeth.

"Let me show you to your room." She said softly. She lead them up a staircase to a beautiful room, with a soft white bed and a view of a big, green pasture.

"Here is your room, we will serve you dinner when you're ready, or if you want you can eat in the dining room. Downstairs there is a pool, where you can swim and relax and there's a gym and steam room. Then at four every day there is a two hour long giving up class. If you need any extra help you may see our psychologist. Any questions?" The woman asked softly. Rick shook his head, the place sounded amazing.

"I'll leave you to say your goodbyes and get settled." The woman said with a smile, before heading back to the reception.

"Seems pretty comfortable here Rick." Karen said, smiling gently.

"I guess." He replied with a shrug. Karen felt a lump in her throat, even though she hated him at that point in time, she still knew she'd miss him.

"Well, I'll miss you." She told him, a small tear trickling down her cheek. Mrs. Hunter gave Rick a hug and Mr. Hunter patted him on the back.

"See ya Ricko." He said amiably.

"Goodbye Rick, sweetie. Take care of yourself." Mrs. Hunter said kindly. They smiled and left Karen and Rick to say their goodbyes. She gave Rick a hug and kissed him gently on the cheek, tears rolling down her face.

"Well, I love you Rick. Goodbye." She said as she turned to leave. Rick took a deep breath.

"I love you too Karen." He told her. She could tell it had taken effort to say and she smiled.

"I know." She said as she walked out of the door. She headed over to the car and found Mr. and Mrs. Hunter waiting outside for her.

"You okay Karen sweetie?" Mrs. Hunter asked. Karen nodded, wiping away her tears with the tissue Mrs. Hunter had just handed her.

"Yeah I'm fine. Thank you." Karen said. The Hunters smiled at each other and they got back into the car, to head home.

When they reached the house Karen was amazed, she'd heard they were well off but she could never have imagined what she saw. They owned a huge mansion with an expanse of fields, including a swimming pool and tennis courts. Karen gaped at it, nothing so huge could be found in Mineral town.

"Home, sweet home." Mr. Hunter said with a grin.

"It's so big." Karen said in awe, her eyes wide. It was a pale white home with two stories but a hell of a lot of room in both of them. When they entered Karen felt the homey feel, even though the house was big it still felt very lived in.

"You can see why just the two of us get lonely." Mrs. Hunter said sadly. Karen felt a twinge of guilt, as though it was her fault Jack had died.

"That's why it's great to have you here." Mr. Hunter added with a smile. Mrs. Hunter nodded, shaking off her sadness immediately.

"I'll show you to your room." She told Karen, leading her up the winding staircase and through the corridors. The mansion reminded her of a place that might have secret passageways; it was just like a haunted mansion except with a warm comforting feel to it. As they walked past the paintings of deceased family members Karen spotted that each one looked a lot like Jack. She smiled sadly, he was the end of the line.

"This house has been in the Hunter family for years. Jack was going to inherit it..." Mrs. Hunter said with some sadness. Karen swallowed hard, she hated to see Mrs. Hunter sad too.

"Who will inherit it now?" Karen asked curiously. She couldn't help wondering if, had Jack been alive, they might have inherited the house together.

"I guess we'll sell it. Jack was an only child and so was his father so the Hunter line ends there. We could give it to my side of the family but technically they aren't Hunters. We'd rather we sold it and put the money to good use." Mrs. Hunter told Karen sadly. She nodded, and a feeling like her heart was being ripped out came over her. She knew that maybe if she hadn't let Jack go he might still have been alive. Mrs. Hunter noticed Karen's sadness and wrapped her arm in a motherly fashion around her.

"I know it must be hard for you... I guess this trip is bringing back memories." Mrs Hunter told her kindly. It was true the trip was bringing back memories, but in a good way.

"No... I mean yes... but it's good. I don't want to forget." She said. Mrs. Hunter smiled and then led Karen to her room. When they entered she felt amazed, it was the most beautiful guest room she could have imagined, with all the necessary furnishings. Everything was pink and flowery, with a giant four-poster bed spread out in the middle. The room looked like a princess dream room, the kind of room Popuri would kill for.

"It's amazing..." Karen breathed. Mrs. Hunter smiled and watched happily as Karen dived on the bed. She'd never had such a big bed to herself before and after this it would be hard not to again.

"I'm glad you like it. Why don't you stay here and rest up for a bit huh? Anything you need you just go ahead and take, don't even bother to ask. Our home is your home." Mrs. Hunter said kindly. Karen smiled and nodded, and then Mrs. Hunter left her to rest.

After a good long nap that felt like years of sleep, Karen slowly made her way downstairs to eat. She was being as primitive as possible, just eating and sleeping were all she needed. She opened the huge refrigerator to find a vast array of food, any ingredient she could want lay in that fridge. As she made herself a ham sandwich she couldn't help but wonder how Jack wasn't fat, maybe he was? She abandoned her sandwich and hunted the house for some baby pictures of Jack. Triumphantly she found what appeared to be a wall of Jackness. An entire wall devoted to him, his awards, his pictures, his life. Karen smiled to see his baby picture, a smiling, podgy blue eyed baby gazed back at her.

Then later his toddler years depicted a small, energetic, brown haired boy with chocolaty brown eyes. So he hadn't been fat. Karen smiled and headed back to her sandwich, gulping down the delicious, hammy goodness. Feeling full she headed back to the Jack wall. She looked at all his shiny trophies and medals, he'd been a champion swimmer, well that explained a lot and a great tennis player too. He'd won awards for most polite, most thoughtful, most conscientious. They were all qualities he'd had in excess, always thinking of others and always chipper... maybe a little too chipper.

It felt good to look at everything that made his parents proud, they gave her a kind of strange pride back. Suddenly she heard footsteps behind her and turned around to see Mr. Hunter.

"He was a great kid." He told her. She smiled, she could see that.

"Yeah... you must have been so proud."

"Couldn't have been prouder. I've been proud of every choice he's ever made." Mr. Hunter said with a sigh. Karen cocked her head slightly, why did he seem sad?

"He was a great guy... the greatest. I guess this cruel world didn't have room for someone so perfect." She said with a grimace. The world had taken from her the one thing that could have made her happy.

"Yeah...It took my most precious thing from me... my only son." Mr. Hunter whispered swallowing down tears.

"He was too good for this world." She told him trying to make both him and herself feel better.

"That he was." Mr. Hunter said with a smile and a nod. He then took a deep breath, as though breathing his sadness out. "What I came to ask you is would you care for a game of tennis?"

"Tennis?"

"Yeah, you know, racket and ball. Aim being to hit the ball out of your opponents reach... no?" He asked. Karen shook her head making him chuckle.

"Mineral town really is miles away from here. Well if you're not too tired I'll teach you."

"That sounds fun... let's go." She replied smiling, she needed something to take her mind off things. But she couldn't believe she'd never heard of tennis before after Mr. Hunter taught her and evidently nor could he. He promised later that they'd watch some tennis matches and then some other television she might have missed out on. After missing lots of tennis shots, she vowed to get better. She had a lot to learn while Rick learned to give up alcohol and she had a feeling she was going to have fun.

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Okay i just wanna ask, did anyone get the title joke? rehab is for quitters... yes...? no...? I got it off a badge and liked it. 


	19. A Fresh Start

As per usual i want to thank my reviewers:

Kumiko Katawa: Yup Rick's in rehab, yeah Jack was practically perfect in every way. Yep i'm introducing the new character in this chapter, hope you like him. Yeah he is a guy :).

DoubleKK: Yeah you were indeed my first reviewer, thankye kindly. As I previously said the new character is a guy, but considering that Karen and Rick are still married and other reasons well... not much boyfriend chance... you'll see.

So anyway enjoy.

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19. A fresh start

Karen frowned, it had been a month since she'd arrived at the Hunters and it seemed like such a short time and already she had to leave. Apparently Rick was fully recovered, less depressed and no longer dependent on alcohol. So she was leaving to go back to Mineral town again and away from the rest of the world. She had mixed feelings, she was going to miss the Hunters so much, but she also missed her friends.

So the Hunters had decided to throw her a small leaving party on her last day. She'd learnt so much from them, so much about the real world and so much about Jack. But she had promised to visit again and that when she returned and that she would beat Mr. Hunter at tennis. So as the Hunters prepared for the party she took round a disposable camera she'd bought to take pictures of her home away from home. Popuri would be incredibly jealous of the bedroom, she mused. She also had to take some pictures of the wall of Jackness, and the Hunters had made her an album of all the copies of the pictures.

Stepping into the golden sunshine of the garden Karen took some shots of the tennis courts. Everyone at home would be so jealous. Suddenly she heard voices behind her, the Hunters were ready for her leaving party.

"Aren't leaving parties generally held in the evening?" She asked smiling.

"I suppose, but since you're leaving this evening, we can't hold it then, can we?" Mrs. Hunter said with a huge grin.

"Exactly, Karen are you sure you're okay to take the night boat." Mr. Hunter asked, his concern showing in his shining blue eyes.

"Yeah... it means I can get back home without everyone waiting at the beach to greet us." She told them. She hated the thought of being welcomed back by a big crowd, it'd be too embarrassing. It was bad enough having a huge crowd of people watching them leave, knowing that Rick was in rehab, but coming back...

"Right, well we'll start the party then... after you're packed." She told her. Karen groaned, once her suitcase was packed she'd truly realise she was leaving. She trudged indoors to pack. She shoved her newly washed clothes into the bag and packed the photo album she'd been given of Jack's. Smiling at his adorable six-year-old face in one of the pictures she placed it carefully in the suitcase.

The party began and Karen was surprised to find the Hunter's neighbours there too, she'd thought it'd just be them. She met lots of really kind people there, deciding eventually that it must be something in the water... or drugs. There were banners saying "goodbye Karen, we'll miss you" specially painted by Mrs. Hunter. There was even a beautiful gift that she had completely not expected. A big present wrapped in shiny silver paper lay on the table waiting for her, and Karen liked shiny things.

"For me?" She inquired with a look of the purest surprise on her face.

"Sure sweetie, to remember us by." Mrs. Hunter told her. Karen grinned from ear to ear as she pulled apart the paper with a satisfying tear. Inside was a large purple velvet box and inside she found a small pendant. It was a small gold chain with a small golden medallion with a picture of the Hunter crest, a gallant centaur holding scrolls of wisdom. At the back was inscribed "may you find truth in all you do. You are a Hunter." Karen smiled fingering the gold crest gently.

"I really didn't expect you to buy me anything... thank you so much, it's beautiful." Karen told them to their delight.

"You'll always be a Hunter Karen."

"To Karen!" Mr. Hunter said raising his glass, "a Hunter through thick and thin."

"To Karen!" Everyone shouted in response. Finally came the hugest chocolate cake Karen had seen in her life, with the words "we'll miss you Karen" written on in white icing. Karen grabbed her camera and took a picture before indulging in a delicious slice of chocolaty goodness.

But the party was over sooner than she would have liked and soon they were headed for the rehab centre. Karen felt a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, she was so nervous to see him again. What if he hadn't got better? What if he would abuse her once again? She sat panicking in the car the whole way there.

They arrived outside the overly elaborate building and waited in the reception for Rick, who seemed to take his time. Finally he arrived looking healthier, happier and more benign. He had a sort of radiant glow about him that made at least some of Karen's nervousness go away. Rick put down his suitcase and wrapped his arms comfortingly around her for a big hug.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered into her ear, his breath tickling it. She nodded and began to feel close to tears, but for once tears of happiness, he was back.

"How are you feeling?" She asked when they finally parted.

"Strong and independent, alcohol does not run my life." He said as though it had been programmed into his brain. "Sorry." He apologised after seeing Karen's shocked face.

"So they really got through to you huh?" She asked.

"Well we had to repeat it over and over at the class, but other than that it was a beautiful place... Ah Mrs. Hunter, Mr. Hunter, thank you so much or what you've done for me and my wife. I'm sorry I wasn't more appreciative before." Rick said sounding rather embarrassed and Karen smirked, good, he should be embarrassed.

"Think nothin' of it, you were having a bad time is all." Mrs. Hunter said kindly. Mr. Hunter clapped him amiably on the back and helped him lift his suitcases into the car. They arrived at the dock and Karen said her final goodbye to the Hunters. She felt deja- vu from when Jack had left her for the final time.

"Call us if you ever need to talk... or you know, just want to catch up." Mrs. Hunter told her, handing her a slip of paper with their number on, just in case. They waved goodbye to her as she boarded the ship. The sky was dark and lit only by the thousands of tiny stars, the moon was simply a tiny scar across the sky. She stood out on the deck and breathed in the night air, a sense of calm drifting over her. She felt Rick's hand upon her shoulder and her calm vanished, she jumped. She turned around to see Rick frowning, hurt by her fear of him.

"You're still jumpy." He told her with a sigh. Karen frowned, how could she not be?

"Can you blame me?" She asked and Rick shook his head honestly. His blue eyes shone with the deepest regret.

"No. But I wish things could be good again. I wish we could just forget all this happened and just be happy, you know?" He said hopefully, encouraging her to forget. She folded her arms in frustration, he couldn't be serious suggesting that to her.

"What, you mean forget that you threatened me with a knife and a broken bottle? Forget the names you called me? Forget how much I hated you?" She demanded, becoming angry. She saw Rick flinch at the memories.

"You're right. But if you can't forgive me... never mind..." He said. Karen cocked her head, he had sounded like he wanted to say something important.

"What?" She demanded, trying but failing to sound sympathetic. Rick bit his lip and stroked back his carrot coloured hair.

"It's not important." He said with a deep sigh. Karen shrugged, she didn't care that much what he had to say anyway.

"We really need to talk things over though... get rid of the anger." Rick told her, placing his hand gently on her back. She stepped forward to avoid him touching her, his touch now made her cringe.

"Not tonight, I'm tired." She said. Rick nodded, the hurt clearly visible in his expression. Karen watched as he moved to the other end of the dock. She couldn't help feeling some pity for him, but why should she? It was he who had gone off the rails, not her. But then again when she had gone off the rails he'd been there supporting her, but that was for his selfish want to get her back. Finally they arrived at Mineral town and Karen's body ached with exhaustion. They headed home with their suitcases without a second glance, they didn't spot the stranger enter Mineral town.

When morning arrived Karen rolled over in bed, enjoying the space left by Rick's absence. He'd volunteered to sleep on the couch, which Karen hadn't argued with. She braced herself for a day of welcoming back from her friends and family as she took a long hot shower. After she had changed she blow dried her hair and headed downstairs to fix breakfast. She found a whole big breakfast already set out for her, pancakes with maple syrup and Belgian waffles, completed with toast and jam. She smiled and sat down opposite Rick who had already begun to eat his.

"Sorry I didn't want to disturb you." He said, gesturing to his almost empty plate. Karen raised her hand to show it was fine. After eating breakfast and watching as Rick cleared the plates away she prepared to go back out to the streets of Mineral town.

"Thanks for the breakfast Rick."

"No problem at all Karen." Rick said with a smile, then after a pause added, "I will make things up to you, you know."

"I know." She replied with a smile. Well it was definitely a start, but it would take a long time for her to fully trust him again.

At the inn she was bombarded with people who had heard of their arrival, somehow news had gotten round. Everyone hugged her and told her how much they had missed her and they all looked over the pictures she'd taken and got developed on the way to the rehab clinic. Then she spotted a new face in the crowd, he was sitting absent-mindedly in the corner reading a magazine. Karen caught a glimpse of the title, a fashion magazine? She giggled, a guy with a fashion magazine is laughable everywhere but in Mineral town, that was hilarious.

"Hi," she said amiably as she walked over to him. He put down his magazine and looked up at her with electric blue eyes, surrounded by a layer of eyeliner.

"Hello babes." He said sweetly. His black hair was half concealed behind a hat and he wore a black t-shirt with pink letters saying "queen of the freakin' universe". She grinned, wondering if this was his attempt to flirt with her.

"I'm Karen." She said, holding her hand out for him to shake.

"Matty." He said, she grinned at his voice, it was excessively high with a slight lisp. He closed his magazine and gestured for her to sit down opposite him.

"How long have you been in Mineral town?" She asked, glancing at the smudged eyeliner.

"Only arrived last night, actually. I'm guessing since this is a welcome party you must have come on the same boat." He said with a smile.

"I guess so." She said smiling back. She looked over at her friends and noticed the crowd had dispersed and Ann and Popuri were waiting impatiently to talk to her.

"Well I've gotta go, I've got a lot of catching up to do. I'll see you around. How long are you here for?" She asked, glancing at Popuri and Ann.

"It depends on if I like the town enough. I'll talk to you later sweetheart." He said with a small wave. She grinned in confusion, did he call her sweetheart? She followed Ann and Popuri up to Ann's bedroom and collapsed on the bed. After Karen had described the outside world and everything she'd done in it to them Ann and Popuri sat intrigued and envious.

"It sounds so amazing, I wanna go someday." Popuri said sweetly, Ann nodded in agreement.

"Sound so cool. But anyway, how's Rick?" Ann asked an expression of concern entering her face. Karen pondered the thought for a moment then took a large inhalation of air.

"He seems better, he's not an alcoholic anymore but... I don't know if I can forgive him or trust him again. So I guess we'll see..." She said trying to sound indifferent.

"Oh Kar, don't worry about it, things'll get better you'll see." Ann said convincingly.

"Let's change the subject, huh?" Popuri said, sensing depression entering the room.

"Oh yeah, what do you guys think of Matty?" Karen asked with a grin.

"He seems real nice." Popuri said and Ann agreed.

"Yeah but what's he going to do, I mean there's no girls left in Mineral town, who's he going to date..."

"Karen..."

"I mean I guess he won't need a girlfriend immediately and he might leave but..."

"Karen..."

"But in the end he'll want a girlfriend, so maybe another girl will move here..."

"KAREN." Ann said losing her patience.

"What?" Karen asked looking confused. Popuri giggled and looked at Ann.

"Karen, Matty's not going to want to go out with any girls." Ann said, smiling awkwardly.

"Why, does he have a wife back home?" Karen asked curiously.

"No, no wife." Popuri said grinning.

"Then why...?" Karen asked curiously.

"Didn't you guess Karen... he's gay." Ann said smiling.

"Gay?"

"You know, he likes guys." Popuri said flushing red.

"Yeah so, I mean every guy _likes _guys, I mean guys have friends too..." Karen said innocently. Ann sighed.

"No, he bats for the other team..." Ann said, trying hard to get her message across.

"Huh?" Karen asked, not following.

"Goddess, you're getting like Popuri!" Ann said sounding exasperated. "Matty has boyfriends not girlfriends, he gets crushes on guys."

"Oh, oh right, yeah. I understand now... sorry it's just in Mineral town... you get kinda out of it." Karen said, growing red with embarrassment. She had wondered why he'd been really nice and friendly, she'd just thought he'd been flirting.

"He's really nice." Popuri said sweetly.

"Yeah..." Karen said smiling, he did seem nice. "We should invite him to a girly sleepover."

"Sure thing." Popuri said laughing. Her cute voice echoing off the walls. Karen glanced at her watch and sighed, she had to get back to Rick.

"I'd better go... Rick and me still have to patch things up, it'll take time." Karen told them, sighing heavily at the arduous task ahead of her.

Back at home Karen found Rick feeding the chickens, they seemed angry at him for having left them for such a long time, but the peace offering of food seemed to be working.

"Hey." She said softly, Rick looked up at her and beamed. He chucked another handful of feed onto the ground and walked over to her.

"Hey." He said, shifting his feet awkwardly. "So..."

"Yeah, so..."

"I was wondering if you'd like to go for a walk tonight... you know... a fresh start." Rick said, unsure of how to put it. He scratched his chin nervously and shifted his foot again, making a mark on the dark brown earth.

"Well... um... okay." Karen said, unsure of whether to agree. She didn't want to give him a second chance, but she knew she had to. Rick smiled awkwardly, he had known she'd be unsure of what to make of his offer. But he had to extend the olive branch of friendship; otherwise they'd never be able to get back to normal.

"So I'll see you... at seven?"

"Yeah." Karen said. Rick leaned down as if to kiss her, then thought better of it, instead he hugged her gently. Karen shifted awkwardly in his arms and then escaped.

"I'd... better go and check the farm." She said walking away quickly.

She arrived at the farm and was relieved to find it still in shape. The ground was covered in newly growing grass and there wasn't a single weed to be seen. The house looked clean as well as the barn and dog house. She paced the area making sure everything was still in perfect order before planting another plot of grass seed. Her aim was to have a third of the field for crops and two thirds for grass. She was more than half way there so it wouldn't be long now until her field was perfect. Then they could have picnics spread over the grass, enjoying the beauty of the farm.

"Ah, so you've been taking care of the farm." A voice said. To Karen it was instantly recognisable as Matty's, even though they had just met it wasn't a voice you could easily forget.

"Yeah, does it look good?" Karen asked, smiling proudly at her work.

"Excellent, when I saw it advertised in the newspaper it looked like a dump... But I wanted to start a new life so..." He began, gazing contently at the surroundings.

"Wait, advertised in a newspaper? Are you here to take over the farm?" Karen asked, stroking the shed protectively.

"Yeah, um see... I want to work in fashion, but until I get some inspiration I don't want to enter my ideas into a company. So I figured if a came to a like totally beautiful place like this I might get some inspiration. Then I saw the advert in the newspaper and I was like, yeah I could work on my abs! So I'm here to take over the farm." Matty concluded, flexing his arm muscle.

"Oh, so you're gonna take over the farm... yeah I've been taking care of it." Karen said smiling. Finally someone would take over the farm, sure she'd miss it, but it would stop her from having to work so hard.

"Oh I heard from the mayor, sweet guy isn't he? He told me you'd decided to upkeep it until someone who you approved of came to run it." Matty told her, batting his eyelashes as he spoke.

"Yeah, if you like I'll tell you the story." Karen offered.

"Sure, that'd be nifty. I'm a teensy bit busy now, I'm going round meetin' everyone, aren't they just swell? But anyway, how about later, we could meet in the inn, and I'll show you why you can so totally trust me to run the farm." He said winking. A sweet smile appeared on his lip glossed lips making Karen smile.

"Sure, sounds... erm swell. See ya later alligator." She said, pausing immediately, had she really just said that?

"Hee hee, it's contagious." He said with a smile. "Ciao bella."

He kissed her on the cheek then walked off, leaving Karen smiling happily. She didn't spot Rick overlooking jealously.

After checking her farm thoroughly she took a short dip in the hot springs and then prepared to meet Matty. She stepped out into the cool night air, and clacked down the streets in her high heels. She found Matty sitting at the bar waiting for her and he gave her a small wave.

"Hi, darling! Ha look I'm wearing more makeup than you are!" He said with a chuckle. Karen smiled, she did that a lot around him, such a shame he was gay...

"You sure are... how did you find meeting everyone?" She asked, taking a seat at the table.

"Aww, they're all so nice. This is such a gorgeous village, like one from a Disney story, like sleeping beauty." He said. She laughed at the reference, she'd watched every single Disney film at the Hunter's house, and she'd fallen in love with the beauty of the fairy tales.

"I guess it kinda is. How did you find the farm?" She asked, curious to find out what he thought of her work.

"Oh my gosh Karen... it's amazing, you've done such a great job." He said and Karen blushed at the complement.

"Do you think you'd wanna take it over?" Karen asked, hoping that he would. She couldn't think of anyone she'd rather work on it, well except Jack, but he'd be a corpse. That might be hard with all the limbs falling off when he lifted a heavy tool.

"Oh yeah, I mean if you'd let me." He said, snapping Karen out of her daydream.

"Sure. I couldn't think of anyone better for the job. Besides it's becoming too much for me to run." She admitted, still it had been nice having her own place to work.

"Well you should so totally work with me... I mean I'd split the profits." He said enthusiastically. Karen held up a hand and shook her head.

"Oh no, I couldn't let you pay me. I'm fine for money, in this town money's not really an issue for anyone... though it is harder when you're farming. But I'd love to help out, I really love being there." Karen said, imagining the farm in her head.

"Oh yeah, I'd love to have a partner in crime... but one in farming is great too." He joked. "I'd love you to help out, we can talk and gossip while working. It'd be so much more fun."

"Yeah and then we can break for tea and scones." Karen said laughing. Matty nodded, and took a sip of the wine he'd ordered.

"Mmm, this is great wine. Try some." He said offering her a sip. She took a small sip and nodded, it was sweet and slightly fruity.

"Yeah, this year was a good harvest... me and my friends made our own wine." Karen told him, recalling the disaster that was Goddess wine.

"Really?" He asked intrigued. So the evening went on, with the two swapping stories and sharing jokes. She wished all guys could be like Matty, they were so alike and had loads of the same interests. Too soon the night ended and Karen departed home to sleep.

She walked into the room to find Rick sitting on the couch his arms folded, wearing an angry frown. She froze immediately, wondering if he was drunk again. Fear poured through her veins, making her heart beat quickly and her breathing irregular.

"Where were you?" He demanded angrily. Karen blinked, he seemed more angry than drunk.

"Huh?" She asked dumbly, why did he care?

"Where were you?" He asked again coldly.

"I... I was at the inn..." She stammered. She looked down and her hand was shaking, she was beginning to panic.

"Why weren't you at the house?" Rick asked his teeth gritted tightly together. Karen shrugged, what did she say? "ANSWER ME!"

"I was at the inn meeting a new friend... Matty..." Karen whimpered, she wrapped her arms around her protectively.

"So why didn't you come on the walk with me? Why didn't you tell me?" He asked with cold anger. Karen clapped her hand over her mouth as her heart sank. She'd completely forgotten about the walk. The walk that was supposed to reconcile their relationship.

"I'm so sorry Rick, I forgot." She said, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Rick put his hands behind his back and began to pace angrily. Karen felt like a criminal being interrogated for a murder.

"You _forgot _about our walk, and then what? You went out with that guy?" He spat coldly. Karen's eyes widened, Rick hadn't ever met Matty.

"Oh no Rick... you've got it wrong... I know how it might look..." She began, swallowing hard. If he'd seen her with Matty he would think the worst.

"I've got it wrong have I?" He asked, uttering a cold laugh. "See I don't think so... I trust what I saw... but I don't trust you."

"You don't trust me?" Karen asked, sounding more devastated than she'd meant to. "Well you should, our marriage may not mean anything to you, but it means something to me. I admit and went to dinner with Matty... but he's gay Rick."

"Yeah I'm sure he's happy about it but..." Rick shouted angrily.

"No, he's gay! He likes men." Karen shouted back. Rick then fell silent, the entire story falling into place.

"Oooooh, oh Karen... see I thought... when I saw you with him..." Rick said, he then shook his head sorrowfully. Karen nodded her head and took a deep breath.

"Rick, I understand that I was wrong to forget our plans, but it was a mistake... but you shouldn't jump to conclusions. We were both wrong." Karen said gently and Rick nodded in agreement. "But a marriage is built on trust and if I can't trust you and you can't trust me, this isn't going to work."

"Yeah, I know." Rick said softly. Karen smiled, happy that he understood and then continued.

"So can you learn to trust me?" She asked and Rick nodded again. "Right, then I'll learn to trust you. Agreed?" Karen asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Agreed." Rick said. Suddenly Lillia appeared from the stairs in a pink nightgown, her eyes blurred with tiredness.

"Is everything okay down here?" She asked worriedly, looking from Karen's tear stained face to Rick's. Karen looked at Rick and smiled, he smiled back and squeezed her hand gently.

"No, but it will be." She told her.

* * *

So what do ya think of Matty? he's kinda based on one of my friends who is a lot like that. 


	20. A Marriage and a Pink Parade

Hey guys once again, glad you liked the new character :)! Thankyou guys for reviewing, **Kumiko Katawa**, **DoubleKK**, **Rachelly**.

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20. A marriage and a pink parade

Karen hurried out to the farm in her new purple overalls, it was her first day starting on the farm with Matty. He greeted her in his own pink overalls and flashed her a grin.

"Karen, you look simply divine in pink." He told her, looking at her outfit with approval. Karen grinned and finished tying up her hair in a pink scrunchie.

"Doesn't everyone?" She commented with a grin. Matty chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"They sure do... Let's get to work then shall we?" He asked, handing her a bag of pink seeds.

"What're these?" Karen asked opening the bag. Matty smiled and leaned towards her as though about to reveal a big secret.

"A special hybrid of late bloomers." He said tapping his nose, indicating that he wouldn't reveal any more. He took a lighter pink bag for himself and began to hoe out patches in the ground to grow them.

"Aren't those strawberries?" She asked curiously, recognising the pink bag from her parents' shop.

"Yep." He said spreading them over the ground.

"Then don't grow them now, they don't grow in fall." She told him worriedly. Matty smiled secretively again and continued to sow the seeds.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing." He told her with a grin. He began to hum as he spread the seeds happily, doing a little dance.

"So what's with all the pink and red stuff?" She asked as he took out a bag of tomato seeds.

"I'm planning something, with Popuri." He said, continuing to dance.

"Would you care to share?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips. He shook his head and grinned sweetly. Karen frowned jealously, she liked the fact that he had other friends, but she didn't want him and Popuri to have secrets without her. "Why not?"

"Sweetie, you know I'd share if it weren't for your own good. You'll enjoy the surprise if it stays a surprise." He said kissing her on the cheek sweetly.

"A surprise?" Karen asked excitedly, now she really wanted to know.

"Yes my little sweet pea, a surprise for the whole village. I only included Popuri because I need her special expertise, you understand?" He said, continuing to smile at their secret. Karen pouted and folded her arms.

"Oh tell me..." She whined, batting her eyelids and looking up through her lashes at him. Matty tapped her on the nose and mouthed "no".

"Fine, fine. Let's just get growing." She told him. They finished scattering the seeds and growing some more grass and then Matty handed Karen a list of errands and some money.

"You go buy these things, then meet me in the inn. We're going to pick some furniture for this place from a catalogue." He told her. Karen grinned happily, their plan was to make the farmhouse into a cool house and crash pad for Matty. So they were going to pick out the coolest furniture they could find. She felt honoured that she was the one he shared this task with, she didn't know why but she felt the need to be his favourite.

"Okay, I'll get the stuff on the list... brush, clippers, milker, cheese maker, butter maker, yarn maker. This'll be expensive..." Karen told him biting her lip. Matty nodded, but grinned too.

"Worry not my little cherub, see I earned lots of money before I came here, I had a really cool job as a hairdresser, plus my family gave me loads of setting up cash too." He said smiling.

"Oh wow that's great! Wait a minute... this is all animal stuff? Are we getting animals?" Karen asked excitedly, she had always wanted animals on the farm, but she hadn't been able to get any because of the time and effort one had to put into them.

"Well we're not going to use the milker on you now are we..." He joked, Karen wrinkled her nose and looked disgusted and offended.

"Oh God no! Forget I said that, I didn't mean that!" He said quickly. Karen tried hard to keep frowning but failed and burst out laughing.

"Whatever." She said. She then took the money he handed her and set about buying the stuff. All the items she needed would come from the blacksmiths and thankfully it just happened to be open.

"Knock, knock." She said sweetly as she walked in. Saibara was busy making Jewellery and Gray was cleaning the back of the shop. When Karen entered Gray's big, blue eyes lit up and he put down his broom.

"Why, hello Karen. What can I do you for?" Saibara asked kindly in his gruff voice. Karen handed him the list smiling sweetly.

"We need everything on there. We're getting animals!" Karen told him excitedly, her jade eyes shimmering. Saibara nodded and took the list from her looking over it. He accepted the money and pinned the list to a notice board at the back.

"Is that so?" He asked smiling. "Well that's great news. How is the farm coming along anyway?"

"Oh it's so great, Matty's such a great partner." She said grinning. A look of jealousy appeared on Gray's face before he forced on a smile.

"Yes, yes. You seem a lot happier lately Karen, Matty sounds like a great kid." Saibara told her. "But speaking of great news, Gray has some..."

"Oh really?" Karen asked curiously, shifting her gaze to the boy in the blue hat. Saibara nodded and elbowed Gray to speak. Gray looked at the floor shyly and mumbled something incoherent.

"Speak up boy!" Saibara ordered and Gray looked up angrily.

"I said, I'm getting married." He said. Karen smiled, Saibara seemed generally happy for him for once. Gray however didn't seem as happy with the news, which Karen found odd.

"When did you propose to Mary?" Karen asked grinning, leaning on the counter ready to lap up the romantic details.

"Well I didn't." Gray admitted, adjusting his cap so that it covered up more of his face.

"You didn't?" Karen asked in wonder. Gray shook his head and shuffled his feet.

"Yeah, the boy was too much of a coward." Saibara said gruffly. Gray shot him a cold look and then looked back at Karen shyly.

"Mary suggested that we'd been going out for a while and that we probably should... and I said it sounded like a good idea and bought her the feather." He told her nervously. Karen forced a smile. That sounded less than romantic. But then she felt a twinge of guilt as she realised that it might be partly because of his small infatuation with her.

"I'm so happy for you Gray!" Karen said, throwing her arms around him. "So when's the big day."

"Winter 5th, so we have a chance to plan. She wants a wedding out on Mother's hill when it's snowy." Gray said unenthusiastically.

"That sounds so romantic." Karen said dreamily, wishing she'd had an idea like that for her own wedding.

"Yeah." Gray said, agreeing automatically with Karen. Saibara smiled and patted Gray's hat proudly. He then handed Karen a bag with the tools she'd ordered.

"Right, I'll deliver the cheese, butter and yarn makers once they're done." He said and Karen nodded.

"Okay see you around and congratulations Gray!" Karen said, smiling sweetly as she walked out of the door, leaving Gray blushing furiously.

Karen put the tools in the tool shed and then sat at a table in the inn where Matty greeted her happily with a kiss on the cheek.

"So did ya get the tools?" He asked after ordering them both a diet coke.

"Of course. But guess what! I have gossip." She told him, he rested his head on his hands looking intrigued.

"Gray and Mary are getting married!" Karen told him happily. Matty clapped his hands together and exclaimed, "no way!"

"Yes way. Gray didn't propose though, which I think is kind of unromantic, they decided together." Karen told him. Matty nodded understandingly and looked into her green eyes.

"Its cos of his teeny crush on you, huh?" Matty said knowledgably. Karen nodded slowly, with a sigh. Matty had now been caught up on everyone in the town's entire life stories, thanks to hours on the farm with Karen and more girly sleepovers than necessary.

"Yeah. I guess so, but once they're married he'll get over it." Karen told him, trying to reassure herself.

"Totally." He assured her with a smile. She knew he was just saying that to stop her worrying but she appreciated it all the same. He then pulled out a couple of thick catalogues and placed them on the desk.

"I got my parents to send me these, since you can't receive them here. These have the niftiest things this side of Jupiter." He told her, flicking to a page showing a giant poster of Barbie.

"Right let's get picking." Karen said. Matty grinned and handed her a red pen while he selected a pink one for himself, they both then leaned over catalogues and the things they liked received a big circle.

"Oh my gosh, look at this fluffy pink rug!" Karen said. Matty looked over and his electrifying blue eyes lit up.

"Gotta have that," he said drawing a large circle around it. "Ooh a pink fridge, tick!"

"Oh wow, lava lamp... in pink and purple."

"Definitely," he said, giving the lamp a tick.

"Giant pink, extra-luxury, dream bed," Karen read, her eyes lighting up.

"Oh yeah," Matty said, giving it a large tick, earning a giggle from Karen. They then picked the very best from each of the catalogues and decided on the final items they would purchase. Matty then handed Doug the list to send off to the catalogue and sat smiling at Karen.

"What?" She asked giggling. Matty shook his head and grabbed Karen's hand.

"We now have the officially coolest furniture around. How does that make you feel?" He asked sounding like a journalist.

"Like I'm on top of the world!" She said, cheering happily. Matty smiled, satisfied by her answer and then he tickled her.

"Good, cos it's gonna be the coolest place ever!" He told her. She laughed, almost falling off her chair trying to avoid him tickling her.

"Now that's not fair, you're not ticklish." She pouted. He smiled and ceased his torture. Suddenly the door opened and Rick walked in looking stressed.

"Karen, there you are." He said, wrapping his arms around her in a hug and kissing the top of her head.

"Beep, beep, beep." Matty said. Karen frowned and looked at him curiously. Rick frowned too and then let go of Karen.

"I'm gonna go and get a drink, would either of you like something?" He asked, they shook their heads and watched as he went over to order.

"What was the beeping?" Karen asked smiling. Matty raised his eyebrows and looked over at Rick.

"That was your husband, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, why? Haven't you had a chance to meet him yet?" Karen asked, following Matty's view over to Rick.

"No, not really... He seems to avoid me a little. I think I've seen him." He said smirking.

"What's up?" Karen demanded, watching Matty smirk.

"It's nothing... it's just my gaydar must be on the fritz or something because I could swear that man is gay..." Matty said, laughing. Karen raised her eyebrows and looked over at Rick.

"No way, he's my husband!" She told him, hitting him gently on the arm.

"My mistake." Matty shrugged rubbing his arm.

"Yeah, my husband isn't gay, okay?" She told him, Matty nodded and she relaxed. She wondered though, if Rick had been surrounded by other gays might he be? She shook her head and dismissed the thought, she was pretty sure he'd know if he liked the opposite sex. Rick returned with his drinks and the three of them had an awkward conversation about the weather. Karen noticed that Rick wasn't quite comfortable with Matty and that he was a little jealous. But his jealousy was completely unfounded and he tried to hide it as much as possible. Karen was glad he was making the effort, maybe they could save their marriage after all.

A few weeks passed and Karen finally saw what they had been growing on the farm. There were entire plots of pinkcat flowers and a huge number of strawberry and tomato plants. They harvested half the produce and the other half they put in the newly arrived cupboard and fridge ready for whatever Matty wanted to use them for.

The farmhouse looked amazing now and Matty had finally moved in, which made farm life easier. They had painted the walls a fabulous light pink colour but left the floor wooden. All the furniture was pink or red and they had painted red hearts all over the wall to match. A giant, pink bed lay in the corner and even the bathroom was pink.

Karen often ate lunch there and stayed over whenever she didn't want to go home. She had discovered that Matty was an excellent cook and knew that he would definitely win the cooking festival. Matty discovered that Karen was the most terrible cook ever and knew that she'd lost every cooking festival ever without her even telling him. The house was a truly perfect haven, and Karen was never happier than when she was there.

She was amazed at how much Matty had improved her life, finally she was truly happy again. Everyone in town was in a buzz over Gray and Mary's wedding and Ann was becoming depressed that she and Cliff were the last couples left unmarried. Everyone was planning the wedding and Matty had promised to cater for the wedding without Karen's help, although she protested that she could make the cake without it exploding. But Matty refused to take that chance.

Matty finally revealed that his and Popuri's plan was a party that would be happening on Valentines day, just a few days after the wedding. She and Matty planned to go to the shop and buy their first animal, a lovely little sheep. They headed over to Barley's and picked out a beautiful fluffy lamb, which Matty named affectionately "Fluffy". There had been much argument over the name, but Matty finally insisted that his name was the best. They put their new lamb in the barn and took it in turns to groom her, as they both loved that job. Next they planned to buy a cow and Karen insisted that she should get to name it. The farm was thriving.

On the day of the wedding Karen somehow found herself being forced to deliver the food all the way to the top of Mother's hill. So a few hours before the wedding Karen and Matty picked up huge boxes of food and hauled them up the mountain through a thick layer of snow. Karen had managed to convince Matty to let her carry the cake, and he had to carry the rest.

"Remind me again why agreed to do this..." Karen said, taking a deep breath and forcing herself another step up the hill.

"Because you love me." Matty told her with a smile from in front of her. He walked up with great ease as she struggled behind him.

"That's true." She agreed as they took the final steps to the summit. Karen took a deep breath in, the view was beautiful. Mary was right, it was the perfect place and season to have a wedding. The entire mountain looked like an iced wedding cake and the snow glittered beautifully, like magic.

"Now this is where I should have got married." Karen said as she put down the cake on some tables Zack had set up earlier.

"Nah, for me it's Vegas all the way." Matty said with a grin. Karen made a face, trying to recall exactly what kind of place Vegas was.

"Vegas... isn't that like a huge gambling place?" She asked curiously, wondering why anyone would want to have a wedding in such an unromantic place.

"Yeah... ish. But to have a wedding in a cool chapel in a place where you can have a honeymoon as well sound cool. Plus you can have like an Elvis theme or something." Matty said spreading the food delicately on the table. He had such a talent for presenting food, everything looked fabulous.

"Now Elvis I've heard of. But Vegas sounds so unromantic, not for me." She said wrinkling her nose. Matty shrugged, at least he liked his idea.

"That's about it. Now let's go and sort out your dress." He said wiping some snow off his hand.

"And yours." Karen said cheekily. Matty looked at her with his icy blue eyes sarcastically. She smiled, he looked sweet when he found her funny. They headed down the hill together and Karen managed to throw some snowballs at him with exceptional aim.

After Karen had changed into her frilly blue dress she twirled in front of a mirror. She wondered what happened to all the other dresses from the weddings she went to, she had kept her own wedding dress but she never kept the bridesmaid ones. All she knew was that she gave them to Carter, she guessed there must be some storage at the back of the church. Matty walked in wearing a bright pink suit, making her giggle hysterically.

"Did you get permission to wear that?" She asked, adjusting his bowtie a little.

"Yep! I asked Mary and she laughed and said it would add colour to the wedding." He said with a proud grin. Karen raised her eyebrows and nodded.

"I guess so, you're gonna stand out like a sore thumb... a sore pink thumb." She told him, eyeing his pale pink ensemble. He pretended to laugh and then looked at her boredly, indicating that he was not at all amused.

"Well anyway, shall we go? I told Rick I'd meet him at the wedding." She said, stroking her dress. She frowned a little, Rick did seem angry about her spending all her time with Matty. But she had much more fun with him than Rick who was just so darn boring.

They headed up the hill in their nice clothes, being careful not to trail them in the snow. When they arrived they quickly took their places in the wedding.

"This is my third wedding if you count my own." Karen whispered boredly. Gray kept glancing over at her and then blushing, making sure she couldn't feel any more awkward than at that wedding. She knew she shouldn't have come while Gray still had feelings for her, but his feelings couldn't be any more than a minor crush, right?

During his vows he seemed to be talking directly to Karen, thankfully Mary was looking at the grounds and appeared oblivious. She had to admit though, Gray looked adorable in his little black tuxedo and for once he wasn't wearing his "uma" hat. She had never seen it off and had begun to wonder if he even wore it in the shower. To Karen's relief the actual wedding part didn't last too long, everyone seemed desperate to get out of the cold.

The after party lasted even shorter and there was no music to dance to, Mary insisted on listening to the beauty of nature. So everyone sat around eating cake as they watched Mary looking around enthusiastically at all the nature. Karen spotted Gray edging towards the bar and followed him to the buffet table.

"Congratulations Gray!" She said smiling, Gray looked back at her sweetly. His big blue eyes seemed to twinkle with happiness, but they also held some regret.

"Yeah, Mary's... a great girl, Karen. But..." He said awkwardly. Karen quickly shook her head and patted him gently on the back.

"I know Gray, but you did the right thing... the healthy thing." She said convincingly. He nodded and looked back at his slice of cake as though it could offer him condolence.

"Well..." Gray said awkwardly, Karen smiled and leant down to kiss him on the cheek before walking over to Matty. He had already began to clear away the plates and uneaten food.

"Please tell me I'm not on cleanup duty." She begged, her green eyes shining pleading. Matty gave her a lopsided smile and shook his head.

"No, 'cos nor am I. Ann and Doug promised to do that... so we're free to go." He said clapping his hands together. Karen breathed a deep sigh of relief, she hated washing up more than anything and she was perhaps even worse at that than cooking.

"Cool, so let's go back and watch TV or something, kay?" She asked hopefully. She'd like nothing more than to curl up on the sofa in the warm with Matty and watch one of his favourite soap opera DVDs. He smiled and leant down to kiss her on the top of her head, being a lot taller than her he found it easy to do this.

"Sorry sweetheart no can do. Me and Poe still have to plan this party." He said apologetically. Karen looked at the floor, crestfallen. She hated that he would rather spend time with Popuri than her, just because they were planning something together.

"Oh, okay then... I guess I could go home and spend some time with Rick..." She said, a frown emerging on her face, oh how she loathed spending time with Rick.

"That sounds like a good idea you know sweetheart. You're so gonna enjoy this thing me and Poe are planning, Kar." He told her with a grin. She forced a smile onto her face and turned away to meet Rick. He was surprised to hear she wanted to spend the afternoon with him, but it was a good idea.

"Oh Karen this is great, we never spend time together anymore!" Rick said happily, as he skipped home a couple of metres in front of her.

"Yeah, great." She said, her teeth gritted together tightly.

"You okay honey bunch?" Rick asked, sounding almost concerned. She nodded and followed him home where hours of watching the discovery channel would take place, with questions in between like "which came first the chicken or the egg?" Oh how Karen loathed the discovery channel, Rick and all his bloody questions.

Valentines Day arrived in Mineral town with a huge buzz about the party Matty and Popuri were throwing. Apparently it was a Valentines ball and everyone had to wear pink. Karen was borrowing a bubblegum pink dress off Popuri who seemed to own basically nothing but pink. The dress was, in Karen opinion, hideous. It was her belief that it should be stomped on, spat on and then put through a shredder. But it was the least frilly pink dress Popuri owned so she had to make do. They met at the square at three o' clock and stood waiting for Popuri and Matty to make a small announcement. Matty cleared his throat and Popuri began to flush pink with stage fright.

"Welcome everyone to the first, and possibly last, ever Valentines Ball! Popuri and I have been planning this for ages and we thought it'd be a great chance for us all to be pink for a day!" Matty announced happily, gazing proudly at his audience. Karen could spot the glint in his eye, the theatrical glint of a natural actor.

"Yeah... um just enjoy." Popuri said in a high squeaky voice. There was an uproar of chatter until some music was turned on from a stereo that was plugged into a super long lead coming from the inn. Karen grinned at the mass of pink, absolutely everyone was dressed in pink, which she just couldn't get enough of. Even Zack who was a beefy man was wearing a pink shirt and pink trousers. The mass of people looked like a giant ball of bubblegum or cotton candy stuck to the floor of Rose square. Karen spotted Matty bounding up to her with the hugest grin on his face. As he came nearer she realised just how much makeup he was wearing: foundation, pink eyeliner, bright pink blusher and pink eye shadow.

"So what do you think?" He asked, his eyebrows raised in anticipation.

"Amazing, just amazing. My gosh, everyone looks so pink!" She said smiling. Matty grinned and led her over to the buffet table to show her the pink food.

"We have pink strawberries, pink grapes, pink grapefruit. Pink cake, pink ham, pink sandwiches, please don't ask how we did that. Look at all the pink food." He said helping himself to a pink biscuit.

"Matty, it's all fantastic." She told him, helping herself to a slice of pink cake. Matty grinned from ear to ear and hurried off to make sure everything was running smoothly.

"Karen, wanna dance?" Rick asked hopefully. Karen bit her lip, she didn't want to but... hell it was Valentines Day.

"Why not?" She said with a shrug, Rick grinned as he led her out to dance. He had timed it just right so a slow song came on as they entered the dance floor and he looked at her slyly. She raised one eyebrow to show that she was unimpressed, but she had to hand it to him, it was good timing. He placed his hands on her back and she placed her head on his shoulder, she never remembered them ever dancing like this. They danced slowly and for once Karen didn't completely want to throw up, it was strange but somehow the romantic atmosphere made things better. But could they ever be the same?

"Rick..." Karen said, her breathing slow and gentle as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Hmmm?" He asked calmly. He was enjoying her company so completely, for once they were together when they weren't fighting and she wasn't repulsed by him.

"Are you happy?" She asked. The brutal question, he knew what was coming next. She wasn't happy, he knew that but for some reason he'd thought there marriage would work anyway.

"Yes, when I'm with you, I'm always happy." He told her. He knew it sounded so corny, but it was true, truer than she could ever know. She lifted her head off his shoulder and looked deeply into his blue-grey eyes. She looked sceptical, how could he possibly be happy when they were living a lie?

"Are you really?" She asked, hoping that he would tell the truth.

"Yes Karen, honestly. But seeing you unhappy makes me sad." He said, looking at the floor avoiding her eyes. He'd done it now, he'd given her the perfect chance to tell him that he was right, she wasn't happy and it was over. But she hesitated, unsure of what to say, how could she break his heart when he was happy?

"I am happy." She lied. She just couldn't break his heart on Valentines Day, she couldn't tell him that it made her feel unclean the thought of being with him. Rick smiled, he knew she was lying, but he preferred the lie. He'd rather be with her as a lie than be without her and face the bitter truth.

"Then I'm happy." He told her smiling. She gave him a nod and rested her head back on his shoulder, she would try to be happy. They danced slowly, even when the song ended and a fast one came on, they just couldn't part and face the crushing reality that as soon as they stopped dancing the peace would die again.

"We'll be okay, Karen." Rick said letting her go and taking a step backwards. He gave her hands a reassuring squeeze and turned away.

"Maybe." She whispered softly to herself when he had walked away. She looked over and spotted Matty trying to get Kai to dance with him. She grinned, for now she could be happy as long as Matty stayed by her side. He was her rock, the only thing keeping her from falling off the edge. She watched him try and flirt with Kai and giggled, yeah she was happy.


	21. Fashion Victim

Hey guys, yes once again i want to start by answering reviews? Why? Because i'm just too gosh darn lazy to click on that little button that says reply... it's just too difficult! But anyway, let's do the answery thingy:

DoubleKK: Yeah I just had to have him do that! And no Rick's not gay, just really, really camp. I mean i personally think he is, but in this story he supposedly isn't... you know what? I really confuse myself S!

GeneralDragon: lol as I said above, not actually gay, he just seems gay! But yay! Keep on reading and you may be surprised...

Kumiko Katawa: Seriously no falling of the love kind for Matty and Rick and yeah you're right Karen kinda does have a little crush on Matty, but he's gay... sad.

Anyway, that's about it... so let's continue shall we?

* * *

21. Fashion Victim

A few days after the party Karen skipped into the inn, searching for Matty so they could start early on the farm work. He hadn't been at the farm so she had assumed he'd be at the inn, where he went usually when he was in the mood for a large breakfast. Sure enough she founds him there, hidden behind a fashion magazine with a bowl of finished cereal beside him.

"No cooked breakfast today?" Karen asked, taking a seat beside him. He glanced up at her and smiled, his blue eyes flashing happily.

"No. I couldn't eat, I'm too nervous." He said with a huge grin. She grinned curiously wondering why he would be nervous.

"Why?" She asked, her eyes filled with innocent curiosity, like a kitten shining with ignorance of the world. Matty tapped his nose gently and gave her a wink.

"I'm afraid my little Karen, that's for me to know and for you to find out." He told her, finally putting down his magazine to watch her reaction. He savoured the enjoyment of seeing her frown and lean further down into her chair. He ran a hand through his jet black hair and picked up his magazine again.

"Can I see?" She asked, switching seats so she was sitting next to him. He held the magazine so she could see it and she looked at all of the pretty people in amazing outfits. Some were completely out of this world, but some seemed exactly what she would wear.

"They're all too skinny." Karen said frowning. Matty nodded gravely and looked down self-consciously at his own stomach.

"You're right, unnaturally so." He said with a smile. He put down the magazine again and gazed over at the bar. "Would you like a drink?"

"Umm yeah, milk please." She said sweetly. Matty went to the bar and returned with a glass of white milk and a troubled look on his face. He sat down again and sighed, watching as Karen downed half the glass of milk in a single gulp.

"You seem worried." She told him after a while. He shrugged, she'd never seen him like this, so upset. "Turn that frown upside down."

"I will lovely. But first I have to find something out." He told her. Karen furrowed her brow and made a face, she wished he wouldn't keep secrets from her.

"What?" She asked, sounding exasperated. He looked at her again and shook his head, increasing her frustration. "Whatever. When are we gonna begin work on the farm?"

"Can't today, I'm afraid I have to stay at the inn." He told her, his face was abnormally pale.

"All day?"

"Yes. I'm sorry."

"What about the animals?"

"I fed them this morning." He told her. Karen breathed a sigh of relief, he had thought of everything. She calmed herself and placed her hand on his gently, showing her support.

"That's fine. I could do with a break, whatever happens and whatever this secret is I'll be there for you, kay?" She promised kindly. Matty looked at her, from his face she could tell this wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"Yeah." He sighed, he sounded both worried and depressed. Whatever it was had to be hurting him, but he also seemed excited. She shrugged, it was probably nothing, he was probably just having an off day.

"Well I'll see ya later." She said as she stood up, stretching. She flicked her hair back and bent down to kiss him on the cheek. He watched her leave and then picked up his magazine again, he couldn't tell her yet, not until he knew.

Karen headed down the street wondering what to do with herself. She used to be able to entertain herself with the slightest things, but now it was harder. She could always watch television, snuggling up in the middle of winter was always nice, but Rick would be there. She wanted to stay with Matty at the inn, but she had a feeling he wouldn't like that. But she could go back later and check he was alright. She thought for a while wondering what she hadn't done or who she hadn't seen in a while... well there was Jack, but then there was the small matter of him being dead. She had seen pretty much everyone a little, but she hadn't seen Elli properly in a while.

They used to be such great friends, but they lost their closeness once Elli started training to be a nurse, that and their interests had diverged. She could always visit Elli and stop over for a spot of tea, she smiled, that sounded like a plan. She arrived at the hospital and found it empty, Lillia was the main visitor and Karen had checked she was safely tucked up in bed that morning. She greeted the doctor at the front desk and scanned the room for Elli.

"Hello Karen, not ill are you?" The doctor asked, sliding his hand into his draw for a needle, oh how he loved giving injections. It was just like when he used to play doctor at pre-school, except with actual drugs.

"No, no nothing like that," she said eying where his hand was going, "no I'm looking for Elli." The doctor retracted his hand from the door quickly.

"Oh really, she'll be glad to see you, she's just upstairs taking care of the baby. You know she's starting to walk now." The doctor said proudly.

"Has it been that long already?" Karen asked, her eyes wide. She realised how quickly time had flown and how little she'd seen the child.

"Yep, they grow up so fast." The doctor said, with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"How old is little Elody now?" She asked, remembering the first time she met her. She remembered how innocent those blue eyes had been, so unaware of the horrors lying waiting for her in time.

"Oh she's almost in her terrible two's. Almost ready to walk I'd say." He said with a happy smile. Karen nodded and looked up the stairs, it'd be nice to spend time with both mother and daughter.

"I think I'll go see them then. Nice talking to you Dr. Mason." She said with a smile as she headed up the stairs. She walked in and found the peaceful scene of Elli playing with Elody. Elli was wearing her usual blue and white nurse's dress and Elody seemed to match in a pretty blue dress. Elody looked at Karen innocently with big blue eyes, she looked so big now.

"Hello Elody!" Karen crooned softly. Elody smiled a little smile and looked to her mother for identification of the stranger.

"Oh hello Karen. It's been a long time, please take a seat, would you like some tea?" Elli asked standing up and walking over to the kitchen. Karen shook her head and smiled, crouching down next to Elody. She was playing with some toy horses and it was obvious that Elli had been playing too. Elli put on the kettle and then sat down next to Karen watching her carefully.

"How have you been Karen... with everything?" She asked her kindly. Karen looked at her cautiously, she could tell this was awkward for Elli, after all she had been having the perfect housewife life and had no idea of what Karen had suffered.

"Oh you know. Things are looking up... but what about you! With your beautiful baby daughter here." Karen said changing the subject swiftly. Elli seemed keen for a subject change too and kept with it, describing the difficulties of the first few months. Karen gazed enviously at Elli and Elody, she wanted a child too, but not with Rick. She couldn't bring up a child in a home where its parents didn't love each other. Sighing she looked at her worn wristwatch and realised it was time to go.

"Sorry Elli, looks like I've gotta go. Thanks for having me." She said, standing up and stretching her legs. Elli shook her head smiling.

"No problem, come by anytime. Me and Elody love the company, don't we sweetheart?" Elli asked her little daughter. Elody gurgled in response and gave Karen a huge smile, making her melt.

"Thanks, I'll see you again then. Bye Elody." Karen said with a smile. She took one last glance at the happy mother and child before heading out again. She shivered in the bitter cold of the outside and looked at the trees, leafless and ready to be reborn in the summer. She walked over to the inn and looked inside finding Matty there on the phone. She slunk in silently and watched him nervously, wondering if it was okay to eavesdrop on his conversation.

"Really? That's so great! You won't regret it." Matty said excitedly into the speaker. He paused while the person was speaking to him on the other side. "Mmm. Yes that'll be fine. No way it's no problem." He paused again. "Yes, I'll just get everything ready..." Once again he paused, he looked both sad and happy at the same time, if that was possible. "No it won't take long." He took a deep breath while the other person spoke again. "A month." He paused and looked worried again. "Too long? Two weeks then?" "Fine." He smiled and nodded. "Yes, can't wait. Thank you, you won't regret this." He then hung up the phone.

Karen furrowed her brow in confusion, she had no idea what he was talking about, catching only half the conversation. Matty spotted her and immediately a guilty look flashed across his face, he looked like a child who'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"What was that about?" Karen asked, trying to sound casual and not worried.

"That was "Passion"." He said calmly. Karen showed no sign of knowing what he meant so he elaborated. "The biggest fashion company in the world at the moment!" Karen's face brightened when she understood and she nodded.

"They want me to be one of their fashion designers!" He said excitedly. Karen felt like jumping for joy, she was so happy for him, this was his dream come true.

"Oh my gosh, I am so happy for you Matty. This is your dream! This is your big break... What's wrong?" She asked, spotting a sad look appear on his face.

"The job's in America." He said, taking a deep breath. The smile on her face faded immediately.

"America?"

"Yes I have to move there. I have two weeks to sell everything on the farm, pack up and leave..." He said. Karen felt tears appearing in her eyes and quickly wiped them away, he wasn't going to do that, he couldn't do that to her... could he?

"You're not going to go though... are you?" She said, trying to make it into a statement. He couldn't leave her, he just couldn't, he was the only one making her life bearable.

"Karen, I have to. This is my big break, I may never get this chance again. If I don't take the job now... I have to take the job." He said firmly. She felt the tears trickling down her cheeks and burning her face.

"B...but you can't leave." She told him. He pulled her into his arms making soothing sounds; he'd known she'd take the news badly.

"I have to Karen. Can't you be happy for me?" He asked. Karen scowled, he was going to put this on her now, make it seem like she was being a bad friend.

"I was happy for you, until you mentioned America." She said coldly.

"It doesn't matter. I'll love you no matter where I go, you know that right?" He asked softly. She nodded, she'd love him too.

"But I'll never see you again." She said, choking on her tears. He ran his hand soothingly down her back and kissed her on the cheek.

"Yes you will, I'll come and visit you." He told her. She shook her head and bit her lip.

"No you won't. The last person who left me... never came back." She said. Matt's blue eyes widened, he knew that she was thinking of Jack.

"That was different Kar, I'm not going to die." He told her firmly. She breathed in deeply, trying hard to believe him.

"I don't know that." She said, looking into his shining blue eyes. She noticed they were filled with tears too, tears of pity and of sadness.

"I promise, and I never break my promises." He told her, stroking her hair gently. She snorted, leaning away from his hand.

"I seem to remember you promising never to leave me and now you're about to break that." She said bitterly.

"And I never will leave you. 'Cos until I stop loving you or forget you, I'll still be with her." He said, achieving a small laugh.

"That is so corny, what crappy movie did you get that from?" She joked. Matty made a mock offended face.

"That came from the heart."

"Oh. Well it was corny." She said, trying to smile. She sat on Matty's lap and buried her face into his chest, remembering his smell, like cinnamon and vanilla and something else that she couldn't place.

"Yeah, but its true okay. I promise I'll be back, okay, I won't leave you." He promised. Karen looked into his honest eyes and wished she could believe him, but after Jack... she just couldn't.

"I don't know what I'll do without you." She told him, infinite hurt swimming in her emerald green eyes. Matty would always remember those eyes, those strange but beautiful green eyes.

"You'll be fine, you're a strong girl." He told her, rubbing her back reassuringly.

"No I'm not. I've just always been strong around you. You don't know what I was like before you... everyday I was struggling not to give up." She said. He swallowed, he'd heard about what she had done after Jack's death, attempted suicide. After he went, what was to stop her going all the way?

"You're brave Karen and the people around you won't let you give up, you're too precious to them." He told her. It was true, the people around her all cared for her deeply, even those who barely knew her. Karen snorted.

"They need me as much as a hole in the head."

"They need you more than you know Karen. I need you." He told her. She tried to smile, but she physically couldn't.

"You won't need me in America, you'll meet loads of other ga... guys and you'll forget all about me. You'll get a partner, adopt kids and live in a little pink mansion and forget _I _ever existed." She said indignantly. He chuckled at the idea of a pink mansion and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Yeah I could have all that and don't get me wrong, it would be perfect. I'd love it. But I could never love any guy as much as I love you and if I weren't gay I would marry you." He said smiling. She felt a twinge of resentment of the fact that he was gay.

"Can't you turn not gay?" She asked hopefully, her eyes shining. He chuckled again.

"Wish I could honey, but that would be a lie."

"Can I come with you... to America?" She asked. He felt touched that she wanted to come with him and leave her life behind, but he shook his head.

"I would love so much for you to be with me. But you have a life back here." He told her, looking around the inn as if to demonstrate his point. _"I won't if you leave." _Karen thought to herself.

"Oh yeah, some life: Parents who barely acknowledge me as their daughter, a husband who I can't stand and friends who are too busy with their own lives to help me deal with mine." She said bitterly. He shook his head quickly.

"No, parents who love you and are proud of you no matter what, a husband who would do anything to have you love him and friends who love and care so much about you. Why can't you see that?" He asked, he sounded hurt that she couldn't see the love all around her.

"You may say it, but I don't see it." She said morosely. Matty sighed, there was no getting through to her.

"I'm sorry Karen, but I've got to leave. I'm going to leave, can't you just be happy for me?" He asked sadly. She forced a slight smile onto her face.

"I am happy for you, but it doesn't mean I'm not going to miss you." She said hugging him tightly.

"I'll miss you too and I'll call you everyday." He promised. Karen knew he would, she knew he'd call her and write her everyday if she wanted but she shook her head.

"No, you'll have your own life to get on with. Just call or write me once in a while, let me know how you're getting on." She said softly.

"I will." He said. She smiled and hugged him tightly as though if she let go he'd slip away. They stayed hugging for as long as they could, getting strange looks from all of the residents of mineral town.

"You'd better go announce the good news," she told him. "I'm going to go home and rest, I'll see you tomorrow."

She then walked quickly out of the inn, she couldn't stay there, she couldn't stand knowing he'd be gone in two weeks.

She flung herself into her bed and cried into the soft white pillow, wondering if she could suffocate herself with it. She heard a soft knock on the door and looked up to see Rick's concerned face.

"I heard crying and I came up to see if you were okay." He said softly. She sat up and looked into his pale grey eyes. Why was it that he could be so hateful one minute and so kind and caring the next?

"No not really. Matty's leaving." She said opening up to him for once. Rick swallowed, he knew that would remind her of Jack.

"It'll be okay, it's not the same as when Jack left." He assured her, his voice less annoying than usual.

"Why is it everyone I care about leaves?" She asked him, fresh tears pouring from her eyes. He pulled her into a hug and stroked her back soothingly.

"Maybe it's because everyone who annoys you refuses to leave." He joked, referring to himself. Karen smiled, a small reward for his efforts. He hadn't seen her smile at him in months, god he missed her smile.

"No, everyone leaves anyway." She said swallowing hard. He held her comfortingly. He was being sweet again, just how he had been after Jack died, like he had been when she fell in love with him.

"I'll never leave you." He promised. She forced a weak smile, she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I know you won't." She said softly. She could feel his heart beating gently against her and felt it quicken its pace as she kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."

"It's true, I love you." He said, not even daring to hope for the same words back.

"I know you do." She said softly. He couldn't even feel disappointed anymore, he knew never to expect the same words back. "Thank you."

"Always."

Karen waited at the farm for Barley, he was coming over to pick up their animals since Karen couldn't look after them without Matty. Barley walked over to her and gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'll go pick them up from the barn." He told her. Karen nodded and wrapped her arms tightly around herself. Barley gave her another awkward smile and took away the animals, the symbols of her happiness gone. She sighed, next would come Zack to take away all of the wonderful pink furniture from the farmhouse and pack it up ready for shipping to America.

She walked into the farmhouse and found Matty packing up his stuff into boxes, it was sad how almost everything that made it Matty's house was gone now. She smiled at a box labelled "pretty, frilly gay stuff" and imagined all of the things that would go into it.

"So are you almost ready to move into the inn?" She asked, simply making conversation. She hated how silent they were now, they used to never shut up together.

"Almost. What are you going to do with the farm once I'm gone?" He asked. Karen shrugged, she didn't know why he cared, he wouldn't be around to see it.

"I'll probably just make sure it doesn't fall apart until the Mayor finds someone to sell it to." She said sounding unconcerned.

"Right, okay. I'll miss this place." He said with a small smile.

"Mmm..." Karen murmured absentmindedly. He gave her a small kiss on the cheek and then piled up his stuff, making it easily accessible.

"So," he said, brushing non-existent dust from his hands. "What do you want to do during our last three days?"

"Pretend it's not our last three days." She said simply. He sighed, he wished she wouldn't be so difficult about him leaving. She made it seem like he was abandoning her.

"Well Popuri suggested that tonight we all eat at the inn." He said. She shrugged.

"It would be me, you, Popuri, Ann, Kai, Cliff and Rick if you want to invite him." He told her. She wanted to shrug again but knew she had to give him something.

"Sounds fine." She said without emotion. He sighed, he knew she had reason to be mad at him, but he wished she wouldn't let it ruin their precious last days together.

"Okay then, I'll see you tonight." He said. Karen nodded and he sighed, this was how they would say goodbye. She headed off home to mope some more while he waited for Zack to pick up his stuff.

Karen found Rick at home, he was sitting by the fire looking pensive. He heard her walking towards him and turned around and smiled at her.

"Hey my... er Karen. How ya feeling?" He asked her as though he was talking to some mental patient or a four year old.

"I've been better... I've been worse." She said with a shrug. But she could feel an empty space beginning to grow inside her, the same empty place that had just recently been filled after Jack left. She sighed and sat down on the sofa, oozing into its soft cushions. Rick stroked her cheek gently and gave her another smile, she could tell that he loved that she needed him. She felt even worse staying here with him, so she stood up and walked outside without saying a word. Rick would have been hurt, except he was used to it.

She walked over to the farm automatically and saw Zack carrying away the last of Matty's furniture. She walked into the house and found it completely empty, the only trace that Matty had ever been there were the walls. She felt her heart sting, it was so painful seeing it like this, a mere skeleton of what it had been. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and saw Matty with a comforting smile on his face.

"We'll go to dinner in an hour, do you want to go home and change. I mean, you don't have to... you look fine in that." He said awkwardly. She could tell this was just his attempt not to aggravate her and so with a shrug she went to change.

She arrived at the inn and found all of her friends there, but no Rick thankfully. She sat down and saw the reassuring looks her friends gave her. They were treating her delicately, making sure not to anger or sadden her, she hated them for that.

"Okay... so shall we order?" Kai asked, breaking the silence. Ann nodded and took out a notepad, it was her night off and she was still working. Everyone ordered and then lastly Ann took Karen's order.

"I'll have water." She said boredly, striking worry into her friends again.

"Uh, really Karen? I mean this is supposed to be dinner... but if that's what you want..." She said writing it down.

"Aren't you hungry?" Popuri asked with concern, her big brown eyes even bigger with worry.

"No."

"Okay then." Ann said placing their order on the desk for her dad to find. They chatted for a while, or rather they made random comments every so often to break the silence. Then their meals arrived and everyone concentrated on their dinners, eating in complete silence. Karen just sipped her water, staring into space. Soon Matty cracked and slammed his glass hard down on the table. She jumped and looked at him worriedly.

"Karen, why can't you accept that I'm leaving and be happy for me? Stop being so damned selfish and try to enjoy our last few days together!" Matty shouted at her. He then panted and looked surprised by himself. Karen looked at him defiantly and shifted her chair backwards.

"Excuse me." She said calmly before stalking to the door. Matty glanced at everyone apologetically and followed Karen outside. She walked quickly along the street heading as fast as she could home.

"Stop stalking me!" She shouted angrily, walking briskly away from him.

"Why do you have to make this so damn difficult?" He asked, tears forming in his electric blue eyes.

"It's not easy for me, why should I make it easy for you?" She said curtly. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him.

"Because it's hard enough as it is, without you making it worse." He snarled.

"Let go of me." She demanded trying to pull away. He pulled her into a hug and immediately she started crying, damn him. He made soothing sounds until she relaxed against him, breathing in his delicious smell and absorbing comfort from him. She cried into him and he held her tightly, comforting her and trying not to cry himself.

"I'll miss you." She said softly into his hot pink shirt.

"I'll miss you too, more than you could ever know." He told her stroking her hair.

"Matty..."

"Hmm?"

"Please don't die." She said. He nodded gently and they continued to hold onto each other for dear life.

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Please don't hate me... 


	22. The Ghost Of You

Hey guys, sorry about the last depressing chapter tugs shirt collar guiltily. But I can promise you there's always a silver lining to this cloud. The chapters actually kinda depressing...

Anyway... let's answer reviews before you guys come at me with pitchforks...

Kumiko Katawa: Ah well there's always someone to help her cheer up... i think taps nose knowingly So anyway i guess you'll find out the answer to all of your questions soon P.

DoubleKK: Thankyou, you know what is sad, i'm better at writing sad stories than happy ones... it's my curse. Well the story actually does have an endingish thing though, but not for a while.

Rachelly: Aww sorry hangs head in shame, but i will try to redeem myself...ish.

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22. The Ghost of you

Karen sat up in bed quickly, hoping that it had all been a dream, that Matty wasn't leaving her. She glanced at the clock, he would be leaving in... three hours, was that right? Only three hours left of him being on the same island as her. She had told him on their last night together that she couldn't be at the dock when they said goodbye. She knew that she couldn't watch him sail away like she had Jack because if she watched, then he would truly be gone.

He had begged her to be there, told her she would regret it. He was probably right, she most likely would regret it, but it would be less painful. She managed to roll out of bed and take a quick shower, letting the warm water soothe and cleanse her. It washed away her salty tears and calmed her briefly. Then she brushed and dried her hair and got ready for the long day ahead. She stepped out into the street, noting that Rick had already left to be at the dock. Only two hours left. She spotted Ann running towards her and stood watching dumbly.

"Karen, please come." Ann begged. Karen frowned, not another person begging her to be there.

"Sorry Ann I can't, it'll remind me too much of Jack." She said, refusing to listen to reason.

"Matty's not Jack. He's not going to die, he'll be back. But if you don't come you'll regret this." Ann said, her sky blue eyes pleading.

"I'm sorry, but I can't say goodbye." She said flatly.

"Karen, you have to say goodbye. You can't let him go without telling him goodbye, you'll hate yourself if you do." Ann said, trying once again to get through to her friend.

"I'm not strong enough. I just can't... I'll just break down again." She said. She couldn't allow herself to break down, because she knew once she was broken, no one except Matty could fix her.

"Karen, you're a stupid, spoilt brat!" Ann said angrily and she headed off to the beach. _"Great," _Karen thought sarcastically. _"That's the best way to make me feel better."_ She watched Ann disappear until only her bright gingery hair was visible. She took a walk around town, noting that it was completely empty, everyone else had gone to the dock to see him off. Why couldn't she bring herself to see him off? Maybe it was because she was the closest to him? Well then that was all the more reason to see him off. She knew deep down why she couldn't bring herself to go, it was because she was selfish.

She glanced at her watch, only half an hour left. She walked around the town once more, fifteen minutes. What if she did really regret going? What if he always hated her for not saying goodbye? She couldn't let his last memory of her being her refusing to say goodbye. She glanced at her watch again even though she knew the time. If she ran she could probably get there in time. She sprinted through the town, wondering if she had ever ran so fast in her life. She reached the square and hurried down the steps to the beach. She spotted the boat beginning to reach the dock and sprinted breathlessly towards it, dodging people as she ran.

"Matty!" She screamed at him, trying to get his attention. She saw him turn around with relief. "Matty, I'm sorry, I'll miss you. I love you!"

"Don't worry, I'll miss you too. I love you too!" He yelled back, barely audible over the roar of the sea waves. She smiled with relief and waved at him, watching the tiny dot wave back. She then watched the boat disappear into the distance, just like she had known, she couldn't take it. She collapsed onto the beach in a fit of tears and saw everyone run toward her from the corner of her eye.

"Matty!" She screamed, crying into the sand. It was just like when Jack had been gone, gone forever, never to return again.

"Why does everyone leave me?" She asked no one in particular. Ann and Popuri bent down next to her, both putting a hand on one shoulder.

"They don't, we're still here." Ann told her.

"And we always will be." Popuri said. They sat in that position for a long time, long after the rest of the crowd had dispersed, the friends sat mourning their loss.

The first few days were just bearable, Karen got through them by forgetting Matty was gone. But as soon as she realised she broke down once again. Her first attempt to distract herself was to repaint the farm house, a relaxing light blue with a pale lavender ceiling. Then she tried spending more time with her family, hoping that perhaps getting closer to the people who were still with her would help her get over those who were not. To no avail, she found that no one had time to sit and chat, even though they could tell she was just barely hanging on. She was finding it hard not to just give up, to hold her hands up and say "let me quit". She wanted to just go to sleep one night and not wake up the next morning, but every morning without fail she woke up.

She would mope around the house most of the time, with Rick using her sadness to get closer to her. That was exactly how he had got closer to her before. The sad thing was, that she was letting him. She was repulsed by him in every sense of the word and yet when he kissed her she didn't stop him. She just wanted to feel something, anything so that she didn't let go. Rick knew he was being used, but he didn't care, he just wanted her. Over and over again she made him repeat how much he loved her and that he would never leave her, not like Jack, not like Matty.

"You can't do this to yourself, you can't do that to him." Ann informed her when Karen told her what was happening. She knew her friend was right, but she really didn't care anymore. But steadily even Ann and Popuri wouldn't listen to her. Partly because they were busy with their own lives and partly because they couldn't take how she was. They didn't like her when she wasn't all supportive and happy, so they avoided her. Rick was the only one there for her, and she hated him, she hated him so much.

She sat on her bed staring into space, only slightly aware of Rick walking into the room with a cup of tea for her.

"Get out." She said coldly. He didn't, he never did. He just placed the cup by her bedside and then sat down next to her. No matter how much abuse she gave him, he still stayed like a puppy so loyal that even when his master spurned him he came back for more. Karen hated herself for abusing him, but she hated him more for taking it.

"Why do you keep coming back?" She asked him crying. Rick shrugged, he had no answer except that he loved her.

"I love you..." He told her with a shrug.

"Why?" She asked helplessly, she wanted him to stop loving her. She wanted him to hate her like everyone else.

"Because you're beautiful and amazing and special." He said kissing her on the cheek.

"I'm not Rick. I keep hurting you and you keep forgiving me and loving me, why?" She asked him desperately.

"You did the same for me once. When we were first married I abused you and hurt you and you forgave me and kept loving me." He said softly.

"No I didn't. I hated you, I wanted you dead, I was repulsed by you. I still am." She told him, she didn't care about hurting his feelings anymore. She saw the hurt in his eyes and felt a slight twinge of guilt.

"And I love you all the more." He admitted pathetically. He knew how much she was abusing him, but it was worth it just to have her.

"I wish you wouldn't, I wish you'd hate me."

"I know you do." He said stroking her back again. He brushed a kiss against her lips and continued kissing her, although he got no response back. He leaned away and handed her the tea.

"Drink this and dry your eyes Karen." He told her. She obeyed mindlessly, she didn't even notice she was doing it. "Do you want to go to bed now?"

"No." She said, curling up in bed and falling asleep almost immediately.

"Goodnight." Rick said sadly before heading out. Lillia walked out of her room and gave Rick a hug, she rarely left her room anymore, only for meals. Karen almost never saw her anymore, she didn't even make the effort.

"How is she?" Lillia asked, concern etched upon her pale features. Rick looked at her, dark bags under his eyes, he couldn't take Karen's poisonous hate.

"She doesn't love me and yet she lets me love her. Which is more than before." He said, hurt flickering in his grey eyes.

"She's still so hurt, I don't know if she'll get better Rick. Sometimes it's best just to walk away." Lillia said kindly. She didn't mean to hurt Karen by asking her son to leave her, but she knew it would be best for both of them.

"What if I can't walk away?" He said softly, looking at the doorway. "What if I can't let go?"

"It'd be hard sweetie, but I think it would be best for both of you." Lillia said gently.

"No it wouldn't! She's crying that everyone she loves leaves her, if I leave her then she'll be worse! I promised her that I wouldn't leave her." He said passionately.

"You're only hurting her Rick. She may be upset about everyone leaving her, but she doesn't love you and I'm pretty sure she doesn't like using you." Lillia told him, worried for her son and her daughter-in-law.

"I'm hers to use. If she wants to use me that's fine." He said quietly. Lillia looked at him with worry and sadness in her eyes.

"Then you're only hurting her too." Lillia said softly. Rick sighed and slid into an armchair looking thoughtfully into the dancing flames of the fire. He asked himself what his father would have done, that was easy he would have left. He left them anyway, he didn't need the excuse of hurting their mother.

"I've made up my mind, I'm not leaving her." He told his mother determinedly. A looks of pain passed across Lillia's face, but she sighed, there was nothing she could do.

_Karen looked around, wondering where the hell she was. She was in a strange white place, with white walls, white everywhere. She was about to panic when she realised that she was dreaming. She relaxed slightly and glanced around some more. She became dimly aware that someone was watching her and she turned around to see a strange pale figure._

"_Who are you?" She asked, not with fear but as a casual question._

"_You know." The pale, almost translucent figure told her. It had long flowing hair and was almost completely see-through. It was wearing a long, flowing robe that was ripped in some places._

"_I wouldn't ask if I knew." She said indignantly. The figure smiled slightly and touched Karen's arm, immediately she felt comforted._

"_I am an angel." The figure said gently, it's silvery skin shining in her eyes._

"_Oh right, am I dead?" Karen asked as her first instinct._

"_Do you want to be?" The angel asked gently. Karen shrugged, observing the angel nervously._

"_Do I get a choice?" She asked softly, not caring much either way._

"_Everyone has a choice. Do you want to live?" It asked again. She thought for a moment and then shook her head._

"_No. Not really, not without him." She said, not really referring to either Jack or Matty but both._

"_Well I can't help you die, but you can do it." The creature said, a slightly mischievous glint in its eye._

"_I can?" She asked innocently. The creature smirked evilly, immediately turning a slightly grey colour._

"_Yes, it's easy. Just take a knife or a rope and..." The creature made a gesture, running its ghostly finger across its throat. She immediately gasped, this "angel" couldn't be suggesting what she thought it was suggesting, could it?_

"_You mean, kill myself?" She asked dumbly. The creature chuckled._

"_Bingo." It said gleefully. Karen shook her head quickly._

"_No, Carter says it's wrong." She told the creature, folding her arms over her chest. The creature looked angry for a moment, then it relaxed its features returning to a peaceful look._

"_Trust me child. There have been times when he himself has considered it." _

"_It's wrong!" Karen shouted, pearly tears trickling down her cheeks._

"_Don't tell me you don't want it. Don't tell me you don't crave it with your entire being. Don't tell me you haven't woken up and wished that you were dead, because I wouldn't be here if you hadn't." The creature said maliciously. _

"_I have... but I would never kill myself." She told it firmly._

"_No?" The creature asked, a sly grin appearing on its face. "What about when he died, didn't you try then?" _

"_Maybe... maybe." She said softly, not knowing why she was saying it._

"_It'll be quick and then you'll be with the one you love forever, no more pain, no more suffering, no more hurting those around you. You'll be peaceful forever." It said, its features distorting horribly._

"_Peaceful... forever." Karen repeated to herself softly. The words sounded comforting, but couldn't she wait for that._

"_Do it." It told her forcefully. Karen nodded gently, noticing only slightly that the walls were turning black._

"_Do it." She heard it hiss finally._

Karen woke up with a start, she could feel her flesh prickling uncomfortably after her nightmare. Was it a nightmare or was it _a vision_? Should she do what it said? She shuddered, it sounded horrible, but maybe her dream was right. She took a sip of water, wetting her dry throat. She then looked over at her clock, it was six am, just about late enough to get up. She prepared for the day ahead with a shower and then headed downstairs for breakfast after dressing.

"Good morning sweetheart." Rick said handing her a plate of toast with jam. "How did you sleep?"

"Not well, I had a nightmare." She said softly. Rick made an "aww" sound and smiled at her gently. He was glad she was opening up to him at least slightly.

"Well it was just a nightmare, so don't worry." He said softly. She nodded, he was right, but what if the dream had been right too.

"I need to go out." She said, abandoning her plate of toast and heading out into the cold. Spring was close to arriving, she could almost smell it on the air. Now would be the time to do it, she found herself thinking, just before new years. She walked into the inn and found Ann and Popuri having a worried conversation. They stopped immediately when she came in, they always did that now.

"Oh, don't stop on my account." Karen said angrily, throwing them both dirty looks. Ann frowned and Popuri pouted.

"See, that's why we stop, because you're always acting like that!" Ann said angrily.

"Well I'm sorry if you can't take it when I'm not Miss Sunshine Happy! Why can't you accept that I'm going through a rough period?" She shouted angrily.

"Because it's not a period, it's been like a decade!" Ann shouted back angrily. "Ever since Jack died, you haven't been Karen! Haven't you seen it happening "Miss Sunshine Happy", we haven't been friends in a long time. We can't just be there for you when you're not there for us!" Ann shouted angrily. Karen looked at Popuri to see if she agreed and the pink haired woman just looked at the ceiling.

"You feel like that too?" She demanded angrily.

"Well Karen... you kinda haven't been the same and yeah, we've been falling apart for a while." Popuri said nervously. Karen felt her world falling apart beneath her, now finally she had lost everyone, everything.

"So... we're not friends anymore?" Karen checked, her eyes shining with pain.

"Not at the moment, but you still have time to repair the damage. Come and talk with us more, be there for us too, our friendship isn't beyond repair." Ann told her.

"And I wish I could repair it. But at the moment I'm struggling to get out of bed at the moment. I'll get back to you." She said coldly before storming out of the inn. She had been going to tell them about the dream, get them to reassure her that suicide was a bad idea, but she couldn't get that from them now. Her parents were always busy so she couldn't go to them, so she went to the last place she could, the church. She arrived at the big oak doors and found them locked, she spotted a note and scowled. She read the note aloud.

"Dear friend, I am taking a short break abroad and will be back in a week or so. Until then, you can pray at home. Lots of Love Carter." She read. She scowled at it, her last hope faded. Her life was such a mess and she had no one to convince her that the dream was wrong. Her life was beyond repair, she had nothing left, no friends, nothing. All she had left was a husband that repulsed her. She looked at the grey sky determinedly, she was going to do it that night. Then they'd be sorry, then they'd wish they had cared. Soon she would be buried in a black casket, right next to Jack's grave, then they'd be together forever. She went for a walk up the mountain and looked at the town, no need to say goodbye to anyone, it was too late for goodbyes.

She stood up there, looking down at the town for hours. She would miss it, if she hadn't messed everything up so badly she could have enjoyed it better. Her life had started out rather well, how had things gone so wrong? Her one shot and she'd blown it. She suddenly recalled a quote she had read a long time ago in the library:

"_Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player_

_That struts and frets his hour upon the stage_

_And then is heard no more: it is a tale_

_Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,_

_Signifying nothing."_

Soon she would say goodbye to the cruel world she had made her home and then she would be safe beneath the ground forever. The darkness fell upon the town and she smiled at the dark that would be her home forever. She walked down the hill slowly, breathing in her final gasps of fresh air. She walked into the house and checked that no one was there, relieved, she took out the old radio and put it on.

"This songs devoted by Marie Scott for her boyfriend who recently passed away, it's called "ghost of you" and it's by "Good Charlotte"." The radio said. Karen felt like smiling, how appropriate, it had to be a sign that this was right.

"_I will wait until the end, when the pendelum will swing back to the darker side of our hearts bleeding._

_I will save this empty space next to me like it's a grave, where I lay a place for us to sleep eternally together."_

She took out a knife from one of the draws and sliced it against her wrists, savouring the pain with a sick smile.

"_I have been searching for traces of what we were._

_A ghost of you is all that I have left_

_it's all that I have left of you to hold._

_Awake in the night to find there's no one there but me_

_and nothing left of what we were at all."_

She then took out a rope from the tool box, Rick had kept it for capturing chickens. She tied it to a bar that hung across the ceiling and secured it. She tied a noose at the end and it was ready. She looked at it proudly and continued to listen to the song.

"_So here I am pacing around this house again_

_with pictures of us living on these walls_

_I see my breath in the cold of the air that I breathe and I'm wondering_

_I'm wondering if it's you that I feel._

_If it's you that I feel here haunting me forever_

_I have been searching for traces of what we were."_

She hummed the tune to herself grinning, knowing that soon she would be with Jack forever. She looked at the crimson blood dripping down her arms, covering her clothes. She realised what a state she must look and almost laughed.

"_A ghost of you is all that I have left_

_It's all that I have left of you to hold_

_Awake in the night to find there's no one there but me_

_and nothing left of what we were at all."_

She felt a little faint, she knew she had to do it soon or she would faint before she did it. That couldn't happen, if they caught her with all this blood they would keep an eye on her and she would get her chance. She looked at the suicide notes she'd made earlier, one for her friends, one for Rick and one for her parents. They all pretty much said the same "I love you, I'm sorry, I made too much of a mess of my life. I didn't want to hurt you anymore". Enough to make them feel guilty, but not blame themselves.

"_And I'm not looking for anything but us._

_Anything but what we were._

_And I'm not asking for painted memories_

_I only want to know you're here"_

"_A ghost of you is all that I have left_

_It's all that I have left of you to hold_

_Awake in the night to find there's no one there but me_

_And nothing left of what we were at all."_

She was almost ready now, the notes were all there and ready. She looked at the blood flowing down her arms freely, there was a puddle on the floor. She found herself almost laughing that she wouldn't be the one to clear it up, it must have been the loss of blood. "I'll be with you soon Jack." She murmured.

"_A ghost of you is all that I have left_

_It's all that I have left of you to hold_

_Awake in the night to find there's no one there but me_

_and nothing left of what we were at all."_

She approached the rope her heart thumping in her chest, she was ready, ready to go. The door burst open and in front of her she saw him, Jack. It had to be the light headedness, it was just an image. The hallucination looked shocked and horrified as it approached her, it was blurred and out of focus. She smiled at it and reached out for it, knowing that her bloodied hands would go right through it. But they didn't. Her hands touched solid warm skin and she gasped, before falling into his arms.

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Oooh is Jack back? DUN DUN DUN. Tell ya next time... 


	23. Lost Time

So, you guys like the cliffhanger? huh? huh? Anyway, thankyou for all the reviews:

Revan Jerrod: Thank you, is my story that different? I didn't realize i was spelling "realize" wrong... hehe, my word processor said it was the same thing, just call me gullible. But thanks so much for the tips! I do check my work through, but I should probably get a second opinion if the spelling is right! Anyway, glad you liked the story!

J.C.: well then i guess i'm a bit of a lame arse! But don't worry it won't be all sunshine and happy, it is a tragedy after all.

Okay so because of the different reviews i got i was confused as to whether to bring Jack back or leave him dead. But since my original story line was this, i'm gonna stick to it, it's just simpler that way. I have to say i'm probably somewhat predictable (. Oh well... here it is...

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23. Lost time

"I was right though, wasn't I?" Ann asked, trying to justify the argument she had had with Karen earlier that evening. Popuri shrugged and took a sip of her drink, usually she hated alcohol but on this occasion she needed it to calm her nerves.

"A little more please Poe." Ann said in frustration. Popuri looked up at her, trying to find the words with her slightly limited vocabulary.

"Well... you weren't not right." She said unhelpfully. Ann groaned and poured herself a beer.

"God I was wrong, wasn't I? I mean she's going through a really hard time and I just gave her an ultimatum, I hate ultimatums..." She babbled angrily.

"Ulti... what?" Popuri asked, twiddling a strand of her shining pink hair.

"Oh god, she must hate me, should I go apologise?" Ann asked quickly, placing her beer down on the table. Popuri shook her head.

"Nah, it's too late. We'll both go tomorrow morning, that'll give her a chance to cool down." Popuri said. Ann sighed and nodded gently.

"You're right, we'll go tomorrow." She said. Popuri smiled and hiccupped, blinking quickly.

"I'm cutting you off Poe, you know how you are with drinking." Ann said, prising the glass out of Popuri's hand.

"I'm fine," she whined, pulling hard against the glass. In the end Ann pulled it away, drained the last few drops and washed it up.

"Let's go to bed, is Kai expecting you home, or do you want to stay here?" She asked, fixing them a mug of hot chocolate each.

"I'll stay. I don't want Kai to see me drunk, besides every time he does see me drunk I end up agreeing to something stupid." Popuri said with a grimace. Ann smiled at the memory of Popuri agreeing to run through the town in just her underwear, she'd never live that one down.

Karen looked up at the face she hadn't seen in over a year, it was different and yet exactly the same as before. His brown eyes shone with worry and she felt his gentle hands support her as she began to sway.

"T... this is a dream." She managed, forcing her to stand up. Jack shook his head and forced a smile onto his worried face.

"No it's real, that blood on your hands is real." He said softly. She looked down at the blood that was now being transferred onto his clean shirt.

"Sorry." She said guiltily. He shook his head, "don't be," he murmured softly. He hurried into the kitchen and searched around the cupboards.

"Where do you keep the first aid kit?" He asked, rustling through the drawers.

"Third cupboard from the left." She said keeping her eyes fixed upon him. She couldn't let him out of her sight, if she did he might disappear again. He came back with the green first aid kit and pulled out some bandages, he gently wrapped them around each arm, stopping the blood flow.

"It's not as bad as it looks." She said gently after the bandages had been wrapped. She groaned, she had never dared to hope that he would come back to her, and in her dreams when he had, this wasn't how she had pictures his welcome.

"That's good, 'cos it looks pretty bad." He said, sitting down with her on the couch. She smiled gently, looking into the eyes that she had missed for so long.

"You know... this wasn't how I pictured ever seeing you again." She said softly, looking at the floor. She didn't want to see the reaction in those eyes.

"Likewise," he said softly. She kept looking at the floor and they were silent for a few minutes.

"You were dead." She said, looking up at him as though to check he was definitely alive.

"No I wasn't."

"Yes you were, I set up a grave for you, I visited that grave almost everyday. You were dead to me, dead to everyone here." She informed him, pain obvious in her voice.

"Well you didn't bury my body." He said, unable to look at her.

"We never found your body, your parents were devastated." She said softly, she didn't want to focus the conversation on her, on them. How could she tell him about everything that had happened? That she was married.

"Mmm, how are they?" He asked, looking at her again, he seemed glad that the focus was shifting.

"Why haven't you seen them yet?"

"No... I er... came to see you first." He said, shifting the focus back onto her.

"They're both fine, they missed you, but they're okay... how did you know I would be here?" She asked softly, had he come a second later... it would have been too late.

"I don't know, somehow I just knew." He said looking into her eyes again.

"You didn't check my old house?"

"Didn't need to." He said simply, they both knew what was coming next. "Are you married?"

"Who?" She asked, she knew very well who, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"You and Rick, are you... are you married?" He asked, his voice low, he couldn't bear to say it as much as she hadn't been able to bear living it.

"Yes." She said simply, she didn't want to elaborate, she couldn't hurt him, not now she'd just got him back.

"Do you love him?" He asked, pain in his eyes fringed with understanding.

"No, I hate him." She said bitterly. He sighed deeply, it was all such a mess. He leaned back further into the couch and she made herself more comfortable too.

"Tell me, what's been going on?" He asked eagerly, she sighed, it was going to be a long story.

After she had finished reliving the horrors of the last two years of her life she sat staring vacantly at him. They sat in silence for a moment, unable to say anything else.

"Right," Jack said, wanting the silence to end desperately. He felt so guilty for having left her, not on purpose. He hadn't exactly planned what had happened to him either.

"Yeah, it's not all bad, I mean, I was almost happy... for a bit anyway." She told him, she could almost feel his guilt radiating off him in waves.

"It's all my fault, I shouldn't have left." He said taking a deep breath, if he'd just stayed with her both their lives would have been better.

"Not at all, in your position I would have done the same. I met your father, he's a great man and I would have so done the same." She told him, looking into his deep chocolate brown eyes, she could drown in those eyes. She looked at him and for the first time in two years she was home.

"Maybe, but none of this would have happened..." He said breathing hard, he couldn't face this yet, he couldn't face her. She was married, the woman he loved more than anything was married to someone else.

"Maybe not, but it doesn't matter now. You're here, you're alive and right now that's all that matters to me." She told him smiling. She reached out and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. She wanted to break down and cry, cry that they couldn't get back the time that they'd lost. But she had to stay strong, she knew that if she broke down now she wouldn't be able to get back and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him more.

His first sight of her had been with blood dripping down her arms with her facing a length of rope with a noose at the end. Talk about bad timing, he could have walked in when she wasn't about to commit suicide. Then again it had been good timing, one second later and... she didn't want to think about that.

"I... what happens now?" He asked softly, she felt his chest rumble as he spoke and felt like giggling. She didn't know how to answer, what was a married woman to do when the love of her life came back from the dead?

"I don't know." She admitted. She had no idea what to do, she just wanted to hold him in her arms forever and never let go. But she couldn't, she still had Rick. They sat for what seemed like hours, just listening to each others breathing. Karen still remembered the steady breaths he took, it was such a sweet music to her ears. Eventually she spoke up, as much as she would have liked to listen to him breathe forever.

"So, erm what about you?" She asked curiously, shifting into an upright position against the couch.

"What about me?" He asked, chuckling slightly. She hit him gently on the arm for his stupidity.

"I told you what's been going on with me, but what about you? How did you survive? You still haven't told me." She said impatiently. She'd almost forgotten to ask him, she had been too overjoyed at his return. He sighed and shook his head slowly, all of a sudden he looked tired.

"It's a long story, I'm too tired to tell you tonight. Another time, maybe?" He said softly. She looked into his eyes, when he was being distant that was the place she'd usually find the answers. She could see hurt behind them, she knew she couldn't comprehend what he had been through, but she wanted to hear it.

"Okay, I'll hold you to that." She told him with a slight nod. Jack yawned and stood up, stretching in a cat-like manner.

"Well it's getting late, I think I'll go to my farmhouse." He said. He then cocked his head at Karen's shocked look.

"Well, you see everyone took your furniture. When you di... I mean were gone, your parents let everyone have your furniture and the rest they sold. Then Matty came... you know about him... and he took all his furniture." She told him, upon seeing his face she had to suppress a giggle.

"I guess, I'll stay at the inn then. But I kinda wanted to keep a low profile." He said running a hand through his messy hair.

"Ah yeah, Ann'll be pretty shocked." She said, imagining her friends... ex-friends shocked face.

"Could you maybe go in and warn her?" Jack asked hopefully. Karen bit her lip and shook her head, she couldn't face Ann again tonight.

"Erm, Ann and I kinda had a little fallout, I don't think she wants to see me again. You'll be fine... after she gets over the initial shock." She told him, hoping that it was true. Jack nodded slightly, looking very nervous.

"You'd better go then, it's getting late. Besides, Rick will be home soon." She said glancing at her watch, in fact he was late.

"Right, night then," he said leaning down to give her a light kiss on the cheek. She placed her hand to her cheek and smiled, feeling sparks where his lips had touched her skin, god she missed that kiss.

"Night," she whispered as he walked out of the door. She hurried to get ready for bed, knowing she had to act completely natural. She wondered how Rick would react when he knew the love of her life had returned, well he probably wouldn't throw Jack a welcoming party.

Jack knocked on the inn door, glad that it was locked and everyone else was headed home. The red haired girl opened the door, her hair a complete mess and wearing a light pink nighty. Her blue eyes widened as she opened the door and she suppressed a gasp.

"What the hell? Are you a ghost or a Jack look alike?" She managed, she had always been brave.

"Neither actually, I'm the er... real deal." He said running his hand through his hair nervously.

"Oh... OH! Oh my god Jack, you're alive, it's a miracle!" She said throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

"Yeah, I guess it is, seeing as everyone here's under the misconception that I'm dead." He chucked, returning Ann's hug.

"Does Karen know?" Ann asked, her blue eyes wide with shock and happiness mixed. She released him from her hug and beckoned for him to follow her inside.

"First person I went to." He said, following her inside and sitting down at one of the oak tables.

"So you know she's married then," Ann said chewing her lips. Jack nodded silently, he had guessed she wouldn't wait around for him, but he'd just hoped.

"Ah right, well I'm guessing you want a room since all of the stuff is gone, since Matty left... Karen's caught you up on all the news, right?" Ann asked hoping that she wouldn't have to relive the pains of the past few years.

"Yeah she caught me up, life hasn't been good lately has it?" He asked. Ann shook her head and slumped down next to him.

"No, things haven't been good since you left. I mean they've been the worst for Karen, Popuri's been fine, but they haven't been great for me either." Ann said looking down at her hands.

"Karen didn't tell me about your troubles." Jack told her, his chocolate brown eyes filled with concern.

"No well she wouldn't, seeing as she doesn't know any of them." Ann said, her sky blue eyes filled with regret. Jack gestured for her to elaborate and she continued. "Well I didn't tell Karen anything, she's been so wrapped up in her own troubles that they're all she ever talks about. So our friendship's been kinda shaky."

"Yeah, she told me you had a fight. She didn't tell me why though." Jack said.

"Yeah last night I told her that she didn't care about us anymore. I was kind of hard on her, so I think I'll apologise tomorrow, she seemed really upset." Ann said. Jack nodded, she didn't know the half of it, but it wasn't his place to tell her about her best friend's suicide attempt.

"Yeah, she seemed really upset. You should talk to her about it. But tell me, what's up with you?" He asked, slumping further into the stool. Ann grinned, happy that someone was finally taking an interest in her.

"You seem tired, I'm sure you don't want to be bombarded with girly problems on your first night back." She said smiling, although she wanted an audience she knew this probably wasn't the time.

"You'd be surprised, I haven't heard any girl talk in two years, it's weird how much I missed it." He said chuckling slightly. He gave her a warm, reassuring smile encouraging her to continue her tales of woe.

"Well alright then, if you insist," she said flashing him a smile. "Well every girl in the town is now married, except for me and Cliff still hasn't proposed! He's been so busy working that he hasn't really been paying attention to me. It's like... like he's fallen out of love with me and I don't know how much more I can take. I thought he'd propose, we'd get married and then live happily ever after, but now it looks like I'm going to die an old maid!"

"Are you sure he knows you want to marry him, maybe he thinks you're not ready..." Jack suggested. Ann shot him an angry look that could make stampeding rhinos stop and turn the other way.

"What? How could he not know? He'd have to be blind, deaf and stupid not to see that I _want _to marry him!" Ann protested angrily. Jack backed into his seat for protection against hurricane Ann.

"Well then maybe he just hasn't found the right time to propose..." He suggested. Ann's face calmed slightly and she nodded.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. Shall I set up a room for you now, you must be tired and lord knows I could use a few winks." She said with a wink, before heading upstairs to set up a room. When Jack finally sunk into his bed he was so exhausted he could barely stand, immediately he sunk into a dreamless sleep. Though had he dreamed, it would have been about the beautiful, green-eyed love of his life.

The morning was hectic, Jack awoke to Popuri embracing him in a huge hug and crying about how much she'd missed him. After he'd changed and showered he'd found all of Mineral town's residents waiting to greet him. He gulped and headed down the oak stairs, knowing it would be one hell of a day. First he greeted everyone, getting a hug from each of them. They each promised to return his furniture and help him with whatever he needed. After a swift breakfast he headed out to look at the damage of his farm. He was surprised to find there was none, apart from the farmhouse being empty everything was still intact.

"Happy... Silver..." He swallowed; he'd left them both behind. Suddenly he heard a bark and a neigh behind him and turned around to see his beloved animals and his smiling faced ex.

"Hey, I thought you might want these back, Barley took great care of them, they've missed you." She said softly. He smiled and looked up at her in thanks, she looked even more beautiful this morning, her face was pale but her cheeks were rosy and her dirty blonde hair glinted in the sunlight.

"I've missed them... and you." He said smiling happily. "Guess what, the kind people are bringing back my furniture!"

"That's great, so everyone knows you're in the land of the living then?" She asked smiling.

"Yep, pretty much, I just have to call my parents..."

"You haven't told your parents you're alive yet!" Karen asked in shock, she couldn't believe that his parents still though their son was dead.

"Well... I kinda came to you first." He said awkwardly.

"Well I bet they'll want to come and see you! Go call them now and tell them to get their butts over here, god Jack..." She said, touched that she'd been the first person he'd come to but also rather annoyed that he'd neglected to tell his parents.

After the call Jack headed back to the farm to find all of his furniture back in the right place and a banner saying welcome home Jack on it. He was amazed, he'd really missed the people's hospitality. Karen smiled when he entered, she'd helped with the setting up of his house and had stayed when everyone else had left.

"So how did your parents react?" She asked, smiling nervously.

"How do you think?" He asked chuckling. Karen shrugged, they'd probably had the same reaction as her, except she'd seen him in person.

"Well they were really happy, not at all angry I'd come to you first, apparently they would have done the same. Mom may have cried, with what I hoped was happiness and that said "that's my boy" many, many times. They'll be over in a few days." He said smiling. She smiled back, she had almost forgotten what it was like to smile at him and in return to see his smile, it was so amazing.

"Karen?"

"Mm?" She asked looking at him in concern. Her emerald eyes were sparkling with happiness, he'd missed those eyes so much. He'd never seen anything greener, even the purest, greenest emerald couldn't match the colour of her eyes for him.

"Can...? This is kinda weird, but could you show me my grave?" He asked, shifting his feet nervously on the plush carpet. Karen gasped slightly, how weird was it to show her ex boyfriend his grave?

"Umm, sure... are you positive you want to see it? I mean... wouldn't that be weird?" She asked, beginning to shift her feet too.

"Most probably," he said with a laugh. "But I dunno, I just want to see it, is that okay?" He asked, he didn't want to freak her out more than she was, but he just had to see it.

"Of course, we'll go now if you like... or we could go with your parents, you know, whatever..." She said softly.

"Now would be good." He said walking over to her. He didn't know why but he had to be closer, as though being apart would make her disappear. Karen nodded and lead him through town to the place where she'd buried him, well buried a casket that didn't contain him.

They walked into the churchyard and he immediately spotted the grave as being the whitest, newest grave. They walked over to the pale stone and knelt before it, like visiting a dead ancestor that they had never actually known. Jack reached out and touched the grave, stroking the letters with his fingers.

"Jack Hunter, 1984-2005. Kind son and loving boyfriend, nothing will replace you in our lives." He read as he felt the carving. He looked at her, tears glistening in his eyes. He laughed slightly though, probably more from nerves than actual funniness of the situation Karen guessed.

"I visited it all the time, when I needed to talk to you... or whatever, I guess you didn't really get any of those messages, huh?" She asked smiling softly.

"No, I guess not." He said, his voice was quiet and distant. She placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"We also did a kind of ritual by the sea for you so I visited the sea often too. I thought it had swallowed you up, but here you are alive." She said pulling him into a hug. He relaxed in her arms, like a small child needing to be comforted.

"I'm so sorry Karen," he said crying harder now. Karen made soothing noised and kissed his head.

"Why?" She asked softly, she couldn't take him apologising to her.

"I should never have left you." He said, turning around and hugging her tightly as though afraid to let go.

"But you came back. You came back and that's all that matters." She said softly. He nodded and she swallowed hard. But it wasn't all that mattered, how could they make up for so much lost time? She wanted the last three years back, but with him in her life.

"I love you Karen." He said softly, crying into her shoulder. She gulped, and stroked his back gently.

"I love you too." She said, trying to hold her own tears back, she wanted so badly to cry, but she had to be brave for him. "Now let's get you back to the inn, I think we both need some sleep." He nodded and she helped him up and to the inn.

When they arrived she found Ann sitting at the table with three mugs of hot chocolate laid out for them.

"I had a feeling you'd be here soon, so I figured I'd be prepared." She said with a smile, gesturing for them to sit down. Karen smiled, whenever Ann apologised she always made some hot chocolate or cookies to go with it, they helped anyone to swallow down their pride and accept the apology.

"Karen I'm sorry." Ann said hanging her head low. Karen smiled, there it was, the apology.

"I should be sorry too Ann, I really haven't been a great friend lately, have I?" Karen said softly. Ann opened her mouth to speak but Karen silenced her quickly. "It was rhetorical!"

"I know, I was _going _to say that I haven't been that great a friend either." Ann admitted.

"No you've listened to my constant whining, but I haven't listened to your problems and I promise we'll have a girly night soon and you can tell me all about it. I promise, it's new and improved Karen time!" She said with a smile.

"I don't want a new and improved Karen; I just want the old one back!" Ann protested and Karen smiled.

"I think I could swing that." She said and she and Ann erupted into giggles. They gave each other hugs and laughed at the amused expression on Jack's face.

"What are you laughing at Chuckles?" Karen asked, her eyebrows raised. Jack pretended to wipe a tear from his eye and smiled.

"I love a happy ending." He said jokingly.

"Oh this is only the beginning." Karen told him mysteriously and he smiled. Ann hurried them to finish their hot chocolates and they talked for a while, basking in the glow of each other's friendship. Karen didn't want to worry about what she was going to do about Jack being back, she just wanted to enjoy him while she could.

A few days later Jack's parents arrived to make a huge fuss of him and Karen. They were ecstatic to see their son alive and were happy to see Karen looking cheerful for once. She was really happy, despite Rick's grouchiness about her ex-boyfriend being back from the grave. But she was still curious about exactly how it was that her boyfriend had returned from the dead. She knew now that he had settled down a bit and his parents were there he might be able to shed some light about his whereabouts for the last three years.

She took her chance when they were all sat down at the inn, Jack's parents, her, Ann, Popuri and Jack. Ann had made them all drinks and they were all calmly chatting about things that were going on, they were just chatting about Mr. Hunter's new love of golf when she took her chance.

"Jack, you still haven't told us where you've been for the last three years, or how you got there." She said, looking pleadingly into his brown eyes. Immediately the laughter stopped and everyone looked intently at Jack, she could tell that they'd all been waiting for someone to ask the question. Jack sighed at the curious looks on everyone's faced, he'd known he'd had to tell them sooner or later, but he'd hoped it would be later.

"Fine, I guess I'd better tell you what happened, where should I start?" He asked, giving in.

"Well I haven't heard what happened after you left Mineral town." Popuri told him, her eyes wide with interest. Ann and Karen nodded in agreement, they hadn't heard that part of the story either, and Karen had never been bold enough to ask the Hunters for the whole story.

"And I wouldn't mind hearing it again, even though I experienced it." Mrs Hunter agreed. Mr Hunter nodded and Jack sighed.

"Fine, I'll tell you, from the beginning..."

* * *

Sorry if i'm Miss. Predictable shrugs, and also sorry if you hated this chapter... But I couldn't kill Jack... yet... 


	24. The Calm Before a Storm

Well this chapter is pretty long, because I wanted to fit Jack's story into one chapter, hence the longness! Thanks guys for all the reviews, much appreciated:)

Oh and just a quick warning, this story is kinda farfetched, but it could happen... i think...

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24. The Calm before a Storm

Jack stood at the beach, looking desperately at the cold, grey stairs leading to it. Karen still wasn't there, he didn't even know if she would come at all. He could see everyone around him watching nervously, as if they felt the same way. Ann and Popuri hugged him; they told him how sorry they were. He then heard Ann mutter something and looked hopefully in the direction she was pointing. Suddenly there was a flash of gold, he could see Karen's hair shining in the light. She looked beautiful, but she always looked beautiful to him. She sighed contentedly as she reached him, just in time. She hugged him tightly and kissed him.

"Don't worry about anything, okay? It's all in the past... and when you come back...well. We'll start again from there, good luck. I'll miss you, and I love you." Karen said slightly out of breath. Jack grinned broadly and gave Karen one last kiss goodbye.

"Goodbye Karen, I love you too." He said and handed her the bunch of beautiful forget-me-nots that he had been clutching, he winked and then stepped onto the boat. The boat began to sail off as he stared back at her, becoming a tiny dot in the distance, stood on the golden sand. He watched her wave sadly and then stared forward, this was what he had to do.

"Sad about losing your little lady?" An old man asked. Jack stared at him with wide eyes, he nodded quickly.

"Yeah, but my dad's ill, so I've gotta. I'd better be there, just in case..." Jack told him, shuddering at the possibility that his dad might die.

"Oh I'm sure it'll be fine sonny, then you'll be back with your girlfriend." The old man told him, as though he had knowledge of this. Jack smiled politely and then walked away slowly, the old man had a strange look about him. He was short and skinny but smelt strangely, like a mixture of smoke and rum. Jack stared out over the crystal blue sea, with the wind blowing and ruffling his hair. He breathed in the salt air, reminded of when he was first heading to mineral town. He remembered feeling nervous, but also ready to complete anything his Grandfather wanted, he _had _to make him proud wherever he was.

The journey was long and boring and Jack spent the entire time worrying, but when he arrived he was greeted by the familiar face of his loving mother. His Mom smiled and pulled him into a tight hug, showering him with kisses.

"Hey mom. I've missed you too." Jack chuckled hugging his mom back.

"I've just missed you so much sweetie, tell me all about everything, I want to hear it all from the top. Don't miss out a detail! Do you have a girlfriend? Have the people been nice? Have you made lots of new friends?" Mrs. Hunter began, asking all the questions that came into her head. Jack smiled and answered each one in detail, spending most of the journey describing Karen and the depth of his feeling towards her. After they stepped out of the jaguar and walked towards the hospital, Jack's feeling of foreboding came back. They arrived in the hospital and he breathed in its trademark medical smell. He gazed at the perfectly white walls, musing that it looked too clean by far, too spotless. They walked up to a short, blonde woman at the desk who was chewing gum and talking on the phone to her friend.

"Yeah so I was all like no way, and she was like, yeah totally and she said..." She finally noticed they had walked in and gave them a look to say "what" without actually having to say it.

"Erm yes, we're here to see Mr. Hunter, is he in the operating room or are we okay to visit him?" Mrs. Hunter asked. The girl scowled and blew a large bubble with her gum.

"Kay Cindy, I'm gonna have to call you back... no way? No way! Sorry I've gotta go, call ya in a minute, luv ya!" The girl said quickly. She hung up her mobile and flicked through her files.

"Yeah, you can visit him, but just don't be too long... or loud. It's room 23." She said boredly, twirling her blonde hair absent-mindedly. They walked towards the room while Jack remembered every time he had been in the hospital.

Well the first time was obviously when he was born, but he didn't remember that. But of course he'd been told stories, of how his mother was allergic to some of the hospital food and swelled up to the size of a small whale and so his dad had thought they were having twins. Not a very interesting story, and yet it had been repeated at least fifty times to him. Then there was the time he had broken his leg playing in soccer match, some guy had tripped him and his leg had twisted in an awkward position. But he had been treated like a hero when he went back to school, most people didn't even know how he'd broken his leg and many rumours went around. He even heard one that he had been attacked by a shark and just barely got away with his leg still attached. But as everything in his school, it was quickly forgotten. But he still had the signatures on his cast to remind him of that glorious time.

The next time they had visited the hospital was when his grandpa had been dying, they had gone to say goodbye. It was a sad memory and it filled Jack with fear and anxiety, what if he had travelled there just to say goodbye to his father. They walked into the room and saw the small man spread across the bed, he looked so weak, but peaceful. Jack smiled and sat down on the chair next to him, checking to make sure he was breathing. Satisfied, he relaxed and gazed peacefully at his mom.

"He looks bad mom, but he'll be okay." He told her, more to reassure himself than her.

"I know dear." She agreed, her voice was croaky and quiet, he hadn't noticed how tired she looked when he had first greeted her, but now it showed on her like a bright orange scarf.

"Do the doctors know what's wrong?" He asked, he looked at all the machines linked up to his dad, were they the only things keeping him from death?

"Yes dear, of course they do. It's a heart problem called Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy... I think." She said softly, having trouble pronouncing the words that meant next to nothing to her.

"Which is...?" He asked her, she might as well be speaking French for what he could understand.

"I'm not sure dear, but it's bad. They'll need to keep him here to operate and they've said there's nothing we can do..." She informed him, her voice cracking and her eyes shining with tears she was struggling to hold back. He could tell it was breaking her heart that she could do nothing. For as far as Jack could remember, if there was a problem his mom would fix it. Being told there was nothing she could do was the worst thing for her, she ceased to be useful.

"Yes there is," Jack said quickly, he had to think of something. "We can be by the phone, we can keep visiting and we can keep our spirits up, okay mom? It'll all be okay." Mrs. Hunter nodded and hugged her son quickly, absorbing the comfort of him. He breathed in her familiar mom scent, first there was the sweet perfume trying to hide the true scent, but then came the sweet mom scent like lilacs and freshness, the essence of clean and comforting.

"I know it will Honey." She said after a while.

They stayed at the hospital for god knows how long, just watching the man who had always been there for them. He'd never ceased to be there, whether it was football games, birthdays, school events or in Jack's mom's case anniversaries. Jack had never really thought about how lucky he was, to have a dad. He couldn't even imagine what it was like for Rick and Popuri, their dad never being there, not knowing whether he was alive or dead.

After they left the hospital they headed back to the mansion. It was familiar and wonderful, almost the same in every way, except now it seemed empty. Without his dad's deep booming laugh or tennis rackets to fall over it was merely a shadow of what it had been. A cold empty shell and not the home he had grown up in. His mother decided to make cookies and unpack his cases for him; it gave her something to do to take her mind off things.

"Sweetie, how are you feeling now? Are ya tired, do you want to nap?" She asked kindly. He shook his head, she still couldn't grasp that he was not five years old anymore and was used to a maximum of six hours sleep on a usual night.

"Are ya sure, you've had a long journey, you should rest." She said, once again he shook his head. She continued to fuss over him for the rest of the evening, insisting he showered and ate a decent sized meal. Finally the night came and he settled down into his large four poster bed. The dove soft duvet engulfed him as he settled down beneath it, closing his eyes tightly and willing his worries to disappear.

Bright and early they got a call from the hospital, an emergency operation had had to be carried out the previous night and it was quite risky because they were dealing with the heart. But they managed to sort out the problem and assured them that Mr. Hunter would be fine, he just needed his rest. They hurried over and found Mr. Hunter sleeping peacefully, a small red scar stretching across his bare chest. His breathing was steady and the machines were beeping gently. They stayed watching, just watching his breathing. They were barely able to speak from relief so they sat mainly in silence.

"Hey mom, would you like something: tea or coffee? Or maybe some lunch?" Jack asked checking his watch. His mother yawned and smiled gently.

"Yes dear that'd be lovely, some tea please and if it's not too much trouble something from the canteen, thanks." She told him. Jack hurried off to the canteen and found her a cup of tea and a nice sandwich. He picked himself up a sandwich and then headed to one of the vending machines for a coke. A pretty, brunette nurse hovered over to him with a big smile on her face.

"I'm guessing you're not a patient." She said jokingly and he smiled gently and nodded. "So what are ya here for?"

"My dad had some heart condition that I couldn't pronounce... but I think he's all better so I won't have to." He told her with a relieved smile.

"That's good. Are you from around here or from out of town?" She asked. He noticed how perfectly straight and white her teeth were. She looked like a model, with a perfect figure and a pretty little face.

"Originally from here but now I live on a tiny little island that no one's heard of." He told her while slotting his money into the machine and pressing a button for coke.

"Aww, the cute ones are never from around here." She whined, making a mock pout and he chuckled softly. Had he been paying more attention he might have realized she was flirting, but his mind was buzzing.

"Hey, can I maybe take you out for a dinner, on me, I'd like to know how your dad is." She said, her dazzling smile wiping his mind of any previous memories.

"Er, yeah sure." He said, not paying much attention. The machine seemed to have eaten his money as he gave it a quick hit.

"Good. See you then." She said batting her eyelashes. "I'll meet you here at six, don't be late, kay?"

"Sure thing." He said as she walked away. He gave the machine a big hit and grinned as a coke fell to the bottom. He picked it out and headed back to his dad's room. Halfway there a startling revelation hit him, a girl had asked him on a date and he'd agreed. He mentally slapped himself and sighed, he'd just have to explain to her later.

In the room he found his dad awake and talking slowly to his mom. She was grinning stupidly and he was smiling softly too.

"Hey dad, you're awake. Knew you'd make it, you're as stubborn as a mule." Jack joked, offering him his coke.

"Yep, not willing to pack it in yet. I'll pass on the coke though, the good doctor says I'm as weak as a kitten." He said chuckling. Jack shrugged and gulped down the coke while his mom nibbled at her sandwich and sipped her tea. After retelling the events of his year for his dad's benefit Jack explained about his accidental date. His parents advised him to tell the girl quick that he had a girlfriend and had no intention of anything serious. But Jack protested that she must have already realized that he'd be going back home and nothing serious was going to happen.

When he arrived at the meeting spot he found her looking even more beautiful than before wearing a low cut red dress. She grinned at him with red lips and beckoned for him to follow.

"Jeez, you could have got changed." She joked. He chucked and ruffled his unkempt hair.

"Sorry, but I kinda wasn't thinking when I agreed to this date, see I have a girlfriend back home." He said, thinking about Karen. Her beautiful smile, the way her green eyes glinted, the way her hair flowed in the wind, the angry look she'd give him if she knew he was on a date... he decided to end that thought, an angry Karen could be scary.

"Yeah so... I have two boyfriends... why can't two people just have a little fun?" She asked advancing slowly on him. He backed off, keeping a good distance between them.

"Because I happen to love my girlfriend." He offered, wincing as his back hit the wall. She smiled, each of her brilliant white teeth enthralling him, begging him not to fight her.

"So, what she doesn't know won't hurt her... just one night." She said seductively. She was like a snake offering him the forbidden apple, and he so wanted to take it. Before he even finished his thought process he felt her lips crash down upon his, sucking the air from his lungs. He slid away and hid his desire to run.

"You seem like a nice girl and all... well actually a bit of a slut..." He paused while she shrugged. "But I love my girlfriend... and yeah."

"You're no fun." She pouted, her blue eyes sparkling. She flicked back her silky chestnut hair, shot him a quick smile and walked away with dignity. Jack heaved a deep sigh of relief and headed back out of the building.

A few weeks later and Jack's dad was still in hospital, still waking up at certain points. But during others he was sleeping so deeply, it was as though he was dead. The doctors had told him that his father was recovering, that this was all part of the process of his heart getting better. But just to be sure they had decided to perform one more operation, just fix one of the clots lying deep within his father's vein. So Jack and his mother were sitting in the waiting room.

"He'll be okay sweetie, after this they say he'll only need a month or so of recovery. It'll be fine." Mrs. Hunter reassured him. He nodded slowly, running a shaking hand through his tousled brunette hair.

"Yeah," He said with a weak smile. He knew she was probably right but he was just too worried to be calm. Suddenly a short nurse walked out of the room with a small smile on her face.

"The operation is over, he needs his rest now. I advise you get some sleep. Come back later and he should be awake." She said softly. Mother and son smiled at each other and agreed to head home for a few hours to get some rest. After all, things usually seemed brighter in the morning.

First thing in the morning they headed back to the hospital, neither had been able to sleep after panicking all night over their sick family member. The sickly silence of the hospital almost got to Jack during the waiting, waiting to be allowed into his father's room. But they weren't allowed to disturb him until he was awake, so Jack continued to pace back and forth through the isles between the itchy seats.

"Dear, you're making me giddy with all the pacing. Why don't you find something to occupy yourself... here take my credit card and call Karen on the pay phone." She offered kindly. Jack opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it. He was nervous about calling her after neglecting to do so for so long. He should have called her every day but he had known that if he had he might have lost all his resolve to stay. He headed over to the payphone and pulled the number for the inn out of his memory.

For many nights when he had first arrived he had pulled the number out of his pocket and read it, preparing to dial the number. But he never had the courage to pick up the phone and dial, and only managed to memorise the phone number. He finally typed in the number and slipped the credit card into the machine. He then held the speaker to his ear and waited, his heart beating heavily as the phone rang. Ann answered, sounding her usual chirpy self.

"Hello? Who is it?" She asked happily. Jack smiled; it was good to hear his friend's voice again.

"Hey it's Jack." He told her. He heard her gasp and squeak a little, obviously filled with the excitement of telling her friend. He heard her take a deep breath and calm herself.

"Are you aware it's the New Year's festival, you are so lucky I was here mister. But I'll go find Karen for you... but if she's all the way up Mother's hill, I swear you won't want to come back." She joked, but there was a bit of threat in her tone. Jack waited for what seemed like hours when Ann picked up the phone.

"Here she is, damn you Jack she was up Mother's hill." Ann groaned after catching her breath. He heard her hand the phone to someone else and felt his heart rate pick up.

"Hello?" She asked nervously. He felt a feeling of euphoria pour through his veins, it was her, his one and only love. The same angelically sweet voice, the same rhythmic breathing... _"Talk Jack," _He told himself quickly.

"Hi Karen, I've missed you." Jack said quickly. He could almost hear her relaxing, he wondered if she felt the same joy from hearing his voice again.

"I've missed you too." Karen said. He heard her voice crack a little, he hoped hearing from him again didn't upset her. But how could talking to him hurt her?

"I'm so sorry I haven't called, I've been so busy, watching over dad and helping him through his operation. It was some sort of heart problem, but he's getting better. I can come back soon, I just want to stay until he's recovered, is that okay? But if you tell me you want me to come back now I will." Jack explained quickly, trying to get all the words out and pouring them out in a big mess. He heard her breathe in sharply.

"No Jack, staying a few more weeks won't hurt; I want you to see him recover. The longer I wait the better it will be when you come back." Karen said bravely. That was her, so selfless, so courageous, thinking of him before herself. She was so amazing, the best girlfriend a guy could have.

"Really?" Jack questioned, even over the phone he could tell what she really wanted, but if she could be brave so could he.

"Yes." She told him. He took a deep breath, he had to be sure that she was okay with it.

"Really?" Jack checked again, this time more forcefully, willing her to be honest.

"YES!" She said in a don't-argue-with-me voice. Jack laughed, she sounded cute when she was frustrated.

"Karen..." He said slowly.

"Yes Jack?" Karen asked. He heard voiced coming from behind him, he reluctantly switched his focus to the small nurse.

"Mr. Hunter, your father is waking up, please come quickly." The nurse said and quickly Jack mumbled "I'm coming" and sighed. They weren't going to get a long conversation after all.

"I'll be back in a few weeks, maybe a month. I've got to go now, sorry we couldn't talk for longer. I love you, goodbye." He said quickly, reluctant to hang up. He swallowed hard, he couldn't let her tell him she loved him, it would hurt too much. He followed the nurse into his dad's room and felt his heart leap. His dad was sitting up, smiling and talking to his mother.

"Dad, you're all better now!" Jack said happily, running to give his dad a hug. Suddenly it was like he was five again, running into his dad's arms after his first day of school. The fear that he'd lost him was gone, and he was safe in his arms.

"Yeah son, they just tinkered with my ticker and now I'm better." His dad said with a smile. Jack chuckled and looked at the scar on his dad's chest. It was barely even noticeable, just a small reminder of what he's almost lost.

"Well you know life's never gonna be the same right dad, no more fatty food, no more McDonalds." Jack said, raising his eyebrows in warning.

"Oh how will I survive?" His dad replied sarcastically.

"Well now, the doctors say we can take you home in a week and then you get to recover at home." Mrs. Hunter said interrupting the chatter. They smiled, only a week left being in the depressing hospital. They talked for a while until the nurse shooed them out and then they headed home for the first decent nights sleep in a while.

After a week Jack's dad came home as promised and they spent some time together, mainly relaxing and waiting for him to heal. But before long Jack knew it was time to go back home, to his real home. He organised a boat and asked his parents to call Karen after he left and tell her he was coming home. He didn't want to do it himself, it would be much more of a surprise if he didn't. So he arrived at the dock early in the morning and, after being showered with kisses by his mother and clapped on the back by his father, climbed on the ship.

The boat set off quickly, the weather seemed calm and the sea spray was refreshing on his face. In the distance were some dark clouds, but even they couldn't ruin his happiness. In a few hours he would be seeing his wonderful Karen. As they neared the clouds the see became rough and the dark waves threatened to engulf the ship. It was no longer safe on the deck and everyone was ushered inside. Jack was too entranced by the cloud to hear the call and remained on deck.

"Hey, you've gotta get out of the storm." A man about his age told Jack. Jack studied him, he looked strong and his black windswept hair was brushed across his startling green eyes.

"Right, where do we go?" He asked quickly, realising that he should have left much earlier.

"Well they've locked the main cabins, I guess they didn't check that everyone was in. We can hide up in the upper cabin, it was used for a lookout post but I think everyone else is in the main part of the ship." The man said. Jack nodded and followed him quickly, climbing up a ladder to reach it. Once they were safely inside they pulled on some lifejackets they found and hid beneath a table.

"So I guess we've got a long wait until the storm passes, I'm Max by the way." Max said with a smile.

"Jack." He told him, offering his hand to shake.

"So where do you come from anyway?" Max asked, cringing a little as the lightening crashed. The storm had become worse and they could feel the boat being tossed around by the waves.

"Mineral town, a small island that practically no one's heard of, I'm going back to my girlfriend there." Jack said smiling, no storm could damped his spirit.

"Yeah I've heard of it. I'm the next island after that, South sea island, you've probably not heard of that." Max said smiling. Suddenly the boat began to shudder and they felt it descend a few feet.

"What was that?" Max asked his eyes wide with curiosity and fear.

"I don't know, but it didn't sound good." Jack responded. Suddenly the door crashed open and water began to pour in, an endless spout of clear, salty water.

"IT'S SINKING!" Max yelled, as the water poured in forcing them to swim out of the cabin. They swam out and found an abandoned life boat and dived in it. Breathing heavily they sat in the boat, shivering with cold from the harsh conditions. They watched as the boat sunk beneath the sea, bubbles forming from beneath it. Jack gulped.

"This is possibly the worst day of my life." Max whispered, his voice hoarse. Jack nodded, the understatement of the year.

"Should we check for survivors?" Jack asked, looking helplessly at the dark water.

"How exactly, everyone else is beneath the ocean... they're all..." He murmured, a short look of understanding passed between them, they were alone.

Jack had no idea for how long they floated across the relentless sea, beneath the dark clouds that smothered the helpless sky. It could have been hours or maybe even days. The sky didn't even seem to change colour, it was always a misty unforgiving grey. He slept a little, unable to keep his tired eyes open, the cold had weakened him and although he tried not to sleep for fear of death he could not resist it. To his relief, when he opened his eyes he found that the boat had stopped bouncing precariously on the rough waves, instead it was still. He forced himself to sit up and looked over the side of the damaged life boat. He looked over to Max, who was still sleeping... well Jack hoped he was just sleeping.

"Max wake up." He said sharply, roughly shaking his companion. Max groaned and Jack heaved a sigh of relief.

"Are we alive, or is this hell?" Max complained, opening his strange green eyes. Those eyes that reminded Jack so much of hers...

"Well there are no flames and no devils with sharp pointy sticks... so I'm guessing alive." Jack breathed, looking across the large stretch of beach they found themselves on.

"Great. Best day ever. This is gonna be like lord of the flies isn't it?" Max asked with a groan.

"Nah, there's just two of us." Jack reassured him, gulping at the memory of what happened in the book.

"Fine, but I have dibs on last to be killed." Max said raising his dark eyebrows sarcastically. Jack nodded grimly and heaved himself onto the boat. His feet were soaked and he grimaced at the squelching sound they made when his boots hit the ground.

"Let's see if anyone actually lives on this island, I don't want to end up like Robinson Crusoe." Jack said with a grimace.

"Yeah, let's see if we can find ourselves a Friday." Max joked. Jack appreciated his attempts at making the situation almost humorous, but they were trapped on an island with no means of communications, things couldn't look much worse.

They walked along the almost endless stretch of beach until they found themselves in some kind of forest. The trees were large and very green and the floor was covered with olive vegetation despite the lack of light. The dry forest smell filled Jack's nostrils as they searched, the thorns of various plants clinging to his skin, causing him to gasp in pain. Finally they found a strange clearing in the woods, and spotted to their relief, huts.

"Oh thank god, huts mean people!" Jack gasped with relief.

"Yeah that or we happened upon planets of the apes." Max said sarcastically. Jack dashed towards the huts, wondering if they would have a phone, when suddenly he felt a hand grip his arm. He spun round to see Max gripping his arm tightly.

"What?" Jack demanded. Max took a deep breath, surveying the woods around them.

"Are you sure this is safe? I mean we might not be welcome... and they may be cannibals." He said, fear evident in his luminous green eyes.

"Cannibals?" Jack asked incredulously. "Max, this isn't some horror film."

"Yeah but it hasn't exactly been a tale of happy bunnies and cute cuddly creatures. We should be cautious." He warned. Jack sighed, he was right, some caution was needed.

"Fine, but we have to go and see them anyway, if not we'll be stuck here for god knows how long." He said. Max nodded and gestured for him to continue walking. They approached the primitive brown huts and took a deep breath. The door opened and a grinning man answered.

"Hello. Who are you?" He asked, to Jack's relief in English. Jack smiled back, not sure whether it was more courteous to bow or shake his hand.

"Erm, hi, my name is Jack and this is Max. We were ship wrecked on this... your island and we were wondering where we are? And if possible if we could use your phone." He told him politely.

"Ah, you'd be surprised how often that happens... we don't have a phone. But we call this Mandrin island. Where we are in relation to places you might know, we have no idea." The man said. He looked rather primitive, garbed in animal skins, but his hair was combed neatly and he seemed clean. Jack gulped.

"Do you know how we could get back home?" He asked desperately. The man smiled weakly and beckoned for them to follow. He took them to a large hut, which was filled with lots of dishevelled looking people.

"This is the house we made for those like you, the lost. We allow you to stay here and give you food in return for your aid in working on our lands. This will be your new home." The man told him. Jack gulped, he had to be kidding.

The first night was rough, sleeping on the cold hard floor with the sounds of others snoring around them. In the one hut there were about thirty people, all cramped together. All of them spoke different languages, but the majority spoke English and most were already learning. In the morning they were forced to work, growing crops in the small gardens within the forest and collecting berries. They would also build more huts and were contributing to building a giant tower, as the people of the village instructed. They were slaves to the people, in return for food, bedding and protection from the many wild animals they were warned would come.

"_That sounds terrible." Karen interrupted after being transfixed with the story for over an hour. Everyone else nodded in agreement and sat intrigued, waiting for the story to continue._

"_Well other than the backbreaking work the people were quite friendly. Besides the story does get better." Jack told them with a warm smile._

"_That's good 'cos up till there it's been kinda gloomy." Popuri said with a pout. Jack agreed whole heartedly as he took a breath to continue his tale._

After months of work for little payment Jack finally went to see the village elder. He had pressed for a meeting with him since the beginning, to find a way to return him and the others home safely. He couldn't live there forever, working like that. The first person to be stranded on the island had already gone crazy, to a point that he couldn't work like the others. He just sat in a corner mumbling to himself, absorbing comfort from being alone.

Jack walked into the elders hut nervously and gave him a quick bow. The man was small, and had wrinkles on every spot on his face. His wise eyes surveyed Jack carefully, as though already measuring his character.

"You are the boy they have all been talking about." The old man wheezed, his breaths were shallow and hard.

"Yeah, I guess so." He offered. The man let out a small chuckle, followed by a deep hacking cough. Jack knew he had to impress this guy but he so desperately wanted to say "you'd better help me old man."

"You have come to beg for help to return home, am I right?" The elder asked, not smiling. Once again Jack wanted to come back with a retort like "yeah well it doesn't take Einstein to figure that out." Or "no I just wanted to visit you for a spot of tea, lovely weather we're having."

"Yes I came to _ask _for help, not just for me but for all of us. We've been working for you for I don't even know how long. The days evade me, but you have given us little in return. I've had a lot of time to think about this, and I want to request time and materials for me and the "lost ones" to build a ship." Jack said determinedly.

"Why should we help you?" The elder questioned. It was not said in a cruel way, more with a lack of comprehension.

"Because we've been helping you and we all want to get home. We have families and loved ones back at home that we want to see, we can't stay to die here." Jack said passionately, he had to convince this man.

"Hmm, you seem like a man filled with the good spirit of nature, but if we give you time to build we will get behind on our building. This I cannot allow, we need to make use of the labour while it is still here." The elder said casually. Jack felt like breaking down into tears, this had been his last chance to escape and the elder still wanted them to work.

"But..." Jack began, ready to try one more time to argue the case. But the elder lifted a hand to silence him, he then pointed to the door. Tears brimmed down Jack's cheeks, the first time he'd cried in a while, a total emotional break down. The elder watched and felt his own soul burn with pain, this was not what the spirits of the forest wanted.

"Stop child. You will continue to work the same hours, however we will provide you the materials to build your ship. You will work during your own time." The elder told him. Jack smiled weakly, it would take everything he had in him, but he would do it.

"Thank you." He said gratefully before heading out of the small hut. He walked towards his own hut and found the rest of the stranded people waiting for him with bated breath.

"Well..." Max asked as Jack walked into the room. His voice was silent and pleading and his heart sunk at Jack's disheartened face.

"We will continue to work the old hours..." He began. He watched everyone groan, their last hope destroyed. "However we will be given the materials to build our boat, we just have to work in our own time." He grinned and everyone cheered.

"We'll build at night... all night if we have to. But we will earn our freedom!" Jack said, his voice rising in determination. Everyone cheered, throwing their fists into the air in joy. Even those who barely understood any English cheered. Suddenly there was silence and only the murmuring of the first lost man could be heard, the man they called crazy Joe.

"They will kill us, the darkness will absorb us and they will eat us from the inside, until the light can't reach..." He pointed at his heart. "The light will be destroyed." He then calmed himself and continued to sob into his arms. Jack gulped, praying that no one else ended up like Joe.

So they worked, worked until their bodies were so broken that they couldn't move anymore. Each barely got four hours sleep a night, they took the building in shifts. Some slept for the first four hours they got a night and some worked for the second. They worked until they could work no more, every day a battle to stay alive. The materials were provided as promised, wood for the actual building of the ship, animal skins for the sail and tools to build. Finally the boat began to take shape, after two years of being on the godforsaken island, the boat was almost made. It was a proud night when the sail was finally strung up on the mast, many of the lost people were crying filled with joy and pain at the same time.

"This is the day that we have earned our freedom, tonight we rest and tomorrow we set sail. Some men will guard the ship, who knows if these people will try to stop us leaving, but tomorrow we set sail for home." He paused while everyone cheered, somehow he had managed to become leader in the two years of living there.

"We may not know where the hell we are, but we will sail until we find an inhabited island, then we can find our homes by our own means. But we will be safe, and we will get the hell out of here!" He shouted, and everyone cheered again. Jack grinned, finally they were going home.

Bright and early in the morning they rolled the ship into the sea and everyone boarded. It was a relatively small ship to hold all the people it had to, but it was big enough. They hoisted the sail and soon they were speeding across the sea, waving goodbye to the island and the people who stood at the beach waving goodbye. The island that time had forgotten, even more out of the modern loop than mineral town. Jack smiled, his dirty face finding it hard to do so. Soon he would be home with Karen... but what if? What if she had moved on, married someone else. He mentally slapped himself, somehow he knew, she was married already. If she had, would all his work to see her again be in vain? She had been the one thing keeping him sane those years, when some days he had wanted to lay down and die. Did she know that he was still alive? No, how could she, no one knew he was still alive. He fought with his doubts, which only disappeared when he spotted land in front of them.

It turned out that they had landed on South sea island, Max's home island. It was larger than mineral town and was far more modern, it was more like a city than a town. Everyone greeted them with shock and happiness, providing them with places to stay and get cleaned up. Jack only stayed for about a week, after saying goodbye to all the people who had quickly become his friends, he took a boat to mineral town. It was a short enough journey, only about an hour or so, and throughout the whole thing Jack panicked about seeing Karen again. He was dead to her, dead and gone. He sighed and leaned against the rails of the ship, no matter what he'd still love her and she'd always be his Karen.

Finally he arrived on the shores of mineral town and headed purposely to the place he knew she would be. Somehow he knew she'd married the man he'd loathed. He knew it and headed straight there, but he didn't know that he'd be greeted with a sight that shocked him to his very core. A sight that sent a chill down his spine and froze the blood in his veins. A sight that made his entire ordeal seem like a trip to Disneyland, there was Karen with blood pouring down her, standing in front of a long stretch of rope. Jack stared at her, filled with pain, shock, panic, horror and love. He had found her once again, and she was still his, no matter what.


	25. And Love Said No

So that's Jack's part of the story done. So anyway, reviews! Thank you!

Kumiko Katawa: When was the story normal! Right... erm not quite back to normal, but you'll see. The divorce comes soon!

DoubleKK: Thank you!

GeneralDragon: Okay, I'll try to keep them both alive... once again I say for now, cos i don't want to say anything definite. So I'll keep updating and you'll see!

No on with our tale of woe!

* * *

25. And Love Said No

Jack finished his story and stopped to watch the shocked look on everyone's faces. He'd accidentally revealed Karen's secret, but his story wouldn't have been complete without it. But she didn't seem angry, on the contrary she seemed relieved.

"I'm sorry everyone, I just... couldn't live without him anymore. I thought we'd be together in death... guess I was wrong." She said with a sheepish smile.

"I mean my luck has been really bad for the last two years, but it was the best luck ever that I arrived just in time." Jack said with a slight smile. Everyone nodded in silent agreement, thanking their lucky stars for this double miracle whammy. Jack came back on the same night that Karen was saved from suicide.

"Well that was... one hell of a story." Mr. Hunter said inadequately.

"I'm sorry Karen, is it my fault you tried to..." Ann asked, guilty tears brimming in her blue eyes.

"God no, it wasn't you. It was everything, I just didn't want to live anymore it was... I just gave up." Karen reassured her, taking a deep breath. "I just wanted to die before you all began to hate me, and I wanted to be with Jack."

"Dear, it was a stupid thing to do, but its okay, you're still with us. Just promise me, no matter how bad things get, you'll never do that again." Mrs. Hunter said sternly. Karen looked at the floor, her face glowing red, shamed and embarrassed by what everyone would think of her. She then stared determinedly into Mrs. Hunters eyes.

"I promise." She swore honestly. She could see everyone gasp in relief around her. Everyone smiled and they all talked for a while, before finally they all headed their separate ways.

"Karen..." Jack murmured, stopping her outside the inn.

"Yes Jack?" She said softly, looking into his chocolate brown eyes.

"Can we erm talk... at my house?" He asked quietly. She nodded immediately, she knew they needed to.

They walked into his house and immediately sat down on the couch, facing each other. He smiled shyly at her and looked at the floor taking a deep breath.

"Where do we go from here? I mean, I know for a fact that I still love you, I always will. But how do you feel?" He asked, determined to get out what he had to say before letting her speak. She took a deep breath, frowning at the floor.

"I still love you. But I'm married now, and here the words "till death do us part" really mean something, in Mineral town there is no divorce." She told him, a feeling of emptiness spreading through her body. She was trapped.

"So what can we do?" He asked, looking into her green eyes. He had missed those eyes, for so long he had wanted to look into them and feel loved and wanted. But now all he saw was pain, a sharp pain that seared his insides.

"_We _can't _do _anything. I'm so sorry, but all we can be is friends, I wish..." She began softly, her voice wavering. But before she could finish she burst into tears, breathing in with deep whines. Jack automatically pulled her into his arms, stroking his hand down her back soothingly.

"I love you Jack." She cried, her tears soaking his shirt. He wanted to cry with her, mourn over their lost love. But they both still loved each other, but the sacred chains of holy matrimony bound her. Something had died when he left, but it wasn't him.

"It's okay Karen. I just want you to be happy." He said swallowing hard. He couldn't take it, he couldn't be so close to her and yet still not be able to kiss her, to hold her, to belong to her. She belonged to another, a man who abused her and didn't deserve her, but she was his regardless. She looked up at him with begging eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." She cried, finding what little comfort she could in his arms. She hated Rick and she loved Jack so much, so why did it have to be like this? Jack made soothing sounds as he stroked her back, trying not to break down into tears himself.

"I've got... I've got to go. I'll see you around... I'm... sorry." She told him, quickly standing up and hurrying out of the door. When she left, Jack found himself empty, cold without her there. He let out a cry of pain and his heart broke in two, his angel belonged to the devil.

Karen wondered along the path into the dark, Jack was back and yet she couldn't be with him. Her wish had come true and yet she couldn't bask in the miracle. She stood in front of her door staring at the house that now caused her pain, why had nothing gone right since Jack left? She gently pushed the door open and found Rick waiting for her, she sighed, it was obvious he was angry at her.

"Whatever you have to say, could you just save it for tomorrow, I'm not in the mood to talk." She sighed, she really couldn't take being yelled at by Rick right now.

"No, where were you? Have you and Jack... been together?" He spat, his voice was angry but pain was easily visible in his grey eyes.

"We talked, that's it. I told him I couldn't be with him because I'm married to the man I hate most in this world, there, are you happy? Does it fill you with joy that I'm miserable? Is that how you get your kicks?" She asked coldly. Rick exhaled deeply, he was just thankful that she hadn't been with Jack. He didn't care if she hated him, she'd hated him for a long time now, and he could deal with it.

"Yeah, I'm really overjoyed that my wife hates me, that I sleep on the couch and that the only thing that would make you happy would be to see me dead." He retorted angrily. She massaged her head gently and groaned, so they were going to do this now.

"Not dead, Rick. I just don't want to be your wife... why?" She said softly. Rick blinked and looked at her with tired curiosity.

"Why what, Karen?" He asked gently. She looked up at him, her green eyes piercing him like a knife.

"Why did you treat me like you did when we got married? Didn't you love me?" She asked, her voice wavering with pain. Her glassy eyes gazed at him, she looked so fragile, as though about to break. He felt his heart fall to the bottom of his stomach. That was his biggest regret.

"Of course I loved you. I don't even know... I guess I loved the control." He admitted, why was he telling her? Why couldn't he just ignore her question and the pleading in her eyes?

"But you never loved me... why did you marry me?" Rick asked, he had to take the blame off him.

"I thought I might love you, and if I didn't then I thought I would learn. But you treated me like crap and I realized that I had made the biggest mistake of my life." She told him, her voice was eerily quiet. "Goodnight Rick." She said softly as she headed upstairs. Rick sighed and collapsed onto his bed on the couch, tears brimmed in his eyes as his mother's words haunted him.

"_You're only hurting her Rick, she doesn't love you."_

"She's mine to hurt, and she'll learn to love it." He insisted to himself bitterly, she'd just have to deal with it like he did. He turned over in his uncomfortable bed and pulled the covers over him, closing his eyes to dream of a different Karen.

Jack looked at the time, it was late, but he couldn't sleep. He needed someone to talk to or else he would go crazy, so he dressed quickly and sorted out his hair. He couldn't got to Karen for two reasons, one – she was the reason for his pain, two – how could he wake her this late at night. He shook his head, who _could _he wake at this time of night? He kept walking and soon found himself in front of the inn, his parents? No he couldn't talk to them, they would worry and fuss and insist that they help him deal. He knocked on the door and waited until the tired red-head opened the door.

"I am sooo angry right about now." She warned, letting him in. She seemed angry but when she studied his tired, red, swollen eyes her face turned to one of pity.

"Sorry to disturb you so late, I couldn't sleep and I wanted someone to talk to and you… you were the only person I could think of… to talk to that is." He told her, his voice was weak and tired, forcing Ann to take pity.

"Oh it's fine, would you like something to drink, or eat?" She asked, fixing herself a mug of warm milk.

"No, I'm fine thanks." He told her. She sat down next to him with her mug and gave him a warm smile.

"So, I'm pretty sure I know what's up, Karen right?" She asked smiling. He nodded and ran a hand through his hair.

"What happened Ann? I mean she's told me the story… but I don't understand. She hated him, how could she suddenly love him… I mean I know she forgave him but… how?" He asked desperately. Ann smiled bitterly, her blue eyes filling with the painful memories.

"She doesn't love him. I don't think she ever did, she just fooled everyone around her and herself into believing she did. She just decided that you were dead, and she had to move on." Ann said softly, watching Jack's pained expression with sadness.

"But why can't she leave him now?" He asked her innocently. His voice was like that of a small child's, filled with wonder, so innocent to the reality of the situation.

"This is mineral town, the town that time forgot. Here it doesn't work like that, you get married… if ever… and then you stick with it, tell death do you part. The woman can't divorce the man and it's shameful for the man to divorce the woman, you're pretty much stuck. We don't have lawyers and courts so, we just have to deal." She explained. Jack gazed at her, her words filling his head, telling him the hopelessness of the situation calmly. He then cocked his head, had she said if ever they get married?

"If ever…? You and Cliff, you're still having problems." He said intuitively. Her eyes widened.

"Wha… what? Hey, this isn't supposed to be about me mister." She pointed out, standing up defensively.

"No, but… things are bad, have you…?" He began, but he then decided the question was inappropriate for asking someone he hadn't seen in years.

"Yeah we've had sex! We've been together three years, of course we have!" She said, laughing slightly at the question.

"Me and Karen haven't." He said with embarrassment. Ann looked at him, her penetrating gaze was intense.

"Why not?" She asked. She didn't seem to care that the question was slightly intrusive, but why hadn't Karen told her?

"Didn't Karen tell you?" He asked.

"Well yeah of course she did, I mean best friend and all. She said you kept saying no. So what's your side?"

"My sides the same, the right time never seemed to come, you know? I wanted our first time to be perfect…" He said, blushing a violent shade of red. Ann resisted the temptation to say "aww", but it was so adorable.

"That's sweet. But didn't you know that whatever time would have been perfect for her, she loved you." Ann told him. He nodded slowly but then shrugged.

"Yeah I guess, but then she slept with Rick and that was so… horrible. It hurt her really bad emotionally, which was part of the reason I forgave her, it hurt her more than it did me. But after that, I wanted to show her that it could be perfect, but the time never came. Then on the final night I said no, because I didn't want to love her and then leave her. But in retrospect I guess I wish we'd had that one time." He admitted, he was relieved to be opening up completely.

"I'll say. But it really didn't have to be so perfect you know. I mean the first time with Cliff was so spur of the moment, he just came up to my bedroom, kissed me and then it happened. But he'd really only come to ask me for a glass of milk!" She laughed gently, her face softening at the sweet memory.

"And you still sleep together now, right?" Jack asked. Ann's face flushed pink and she shook her head and Jack's mouth fell open.

"The last time was a year ago." She admitted. "So now you see why I know there's something wrong, he hasn't told me he loves me since then either. I don't think he loves me anymore Jack, and I don't know what to do." Tears began to trickle down her beautifully pale cheeks and her eyes shone with tears. Jack cupped her cheek in his hand gently trying to stop her from crying, empathizing with her pain. They both stood up, looking deeply into each others eyes, their pain molding together. Before either of them realized what was happening they found their lips together in a gently kiss. Jack's arms wrapped around her body, stroking her back gently and Ann ran her hand through his soft brown hair. After a moment they separated, breathing heavily and Ann rested her forehead against his.

"That was… interesting." Ann breathed and Jack nodded. Slowly they edged away from each other gazing into each others eyes.

"I think I'd better go… farm work… I'll see you." He whispered heading towards the door.

"Yeah, see you." Ann said softly as the door closed with a soft click.

Karen yawned and stretched out like a cat, she felt like she had a hangover without actually drinking alcohol. Sighing she prepared herself for the day ahead, brushing her hair and teeth, taking a shower. She still didn't know what she could do, she had to stay married to Rick and let her love, her one and only slip through her fingers. How could she do that though, how could she let herself suffer like this? It was like being starving and having a basket of food placed in front of her face but being unable to reach it. It was torture.

"Morning Karen." Rick greeted her when she finally made her way downstairs. She was sick of trying to be alright, she was just going to let her anger out, then maybe he would divorce her of his own accord.

"Bite me." She said angrily, pulling out a carton of orange juice and drinking straight from it.

"Why do we never have any chicken in the house?" She demanded, slamming the fridge door angrily.

"Because they all live in the coop…?" He said stupidly. She shot him a cold glare and reopened the fridge.

"Why don't we ever have any dead chicken… as in to eat?" She asked frostily, pulling out some eggs.

"Because I don't want to kill my chickens!" Rick gasped in horror as she shrugged.

"Why? Because they're your only friends? Well I want chicken, you know what, I'll go out and kill one today." She said uncaringly. Rick gasped and tried to stop himself from being sick at the thought, he couldn't allow her to harm his chickens.

"Karen, I know you hate me, but touch one feather on my chickens head and you'll be sleeping outside tonight." He told her angrily. His threat was futile and she just laughed at him coldly.

"Ha, I have loads of people that would take me in. I could go to the inn, Popuri's, my parents', or maybe even _Jack's_." She sneered, emphasizing the word to make him cringe.

"Please Karen, don't." He pleaded, he was begging now. Karen smirked and headed towards the door.

"Don't worry, I don't need to kill your chickens to make you feel pain." She told him before striding out of the door.

Jack finished his farm work quickly, trying to take his mind off the previous events of that evening. How could he have done that to Karen, to Cliff and to Ann? He shook his head, it was a one time thing, it would never happen again. He looked up and saw her shiny, ginger hair glinting in the sun and he gulped.

"Ann, what are you doing here?" He asked unsurely, putting down his watering can. He must look like such a pansy watering his plants, but why should he care?

"We need to talk, could we go inside?" She asked. He nodded quickly and followed her into the farmhouse. Ann surveyed him and gulped to find his face glistening with sweat, why oh why did he have to look like that?

"So you've either come to buy eggs first hand from me… or this is about last night." He said, trying to lighten the mood with a joke. She ignored his joke and quickly got to the point.

"Last night was wrong, we shouldn't have kissed. I'm sorry…" She said quickly. He nodded, he felt guilty too.

"Yeah me too, it was just... solace." He offered, his brown eyes shining with regret.

"Yeah… just solace." Ann agreed, breathing a sigh of relief. "So we can just forget about it right?"

"Yeah, of course. All in the past." He said nodding. They hugged awkwardly and before they knew it they were in a lip-lock. Passionately kissing each other and falling gently onto the bed. They separated and Ann looked into his eyes.

"Maybe there's something more to this…" She breathed. Jack shrugged.

"Maybe." He then pulled her back into a steamy kiss.

Later Ann snuck back into the inn, and leaned against the wall in relief. She jumped when she heard footsteps next to her.

"You're a little late Ann. You missed all your shifts." Her dad said suspiciously. She breathed in sharply, avoiding her dad's golden eyes.

"Yeah, sorry I was talking to Jack about what's been going on this year and I kind of lost track of time." She said, almost too quickly. She looked at him to try and measure whether he believed her. He eyed her steadily and to her relief nodded.

"Yeah, well okay, try not to be late again." He warned. His daughter was usually very reliable and it seemed odd for her to miss almost an entire day of work.

"Yeah I won't. I'm gonna go and see Cliff, see ya later dad." She said, before rushing up the stairs to Cliff's room. He was busy writing his diary when she walked in, staring at the crumpled pages intently. _"Cute," _she thought. _"My boyfriend writes a diary. If only I could get a look at that…"_

"Hey Sweetie." Cliff said interrupting her thoughts, his earthy green-brown eyes surveying her with curiosity.

"Hey… Cliff can we talk?" She asked, sitting down next to him on the bed before waiting for an answer.

"Of course, what's on your mind?" He asked, sitting up to gaze at her intently. She took a deep breath and gazed back, her stare equally intent.

"Where are we?" She asked softly.

"Well at the moment… on my bed at the inn." He joked. She laughed gently at his attempt at a joke.

"No I mean, in our relationship, where are we?" She asked again. He swallowed, he had been expecting this for a long time now. He guessed that her decision to ask had been brought on by Jack's return.

"Where do _you_ think we are?" He asked, cleverly turning the question back round on her.

"No, I'm asking you." She said gently. He sighed, he wasn't going to get out of this by avoiding her questions.

"I… don't know." He admitted. Her response made him jump out of his skin, she slapped him hard across the face.

"What the…?" He began, after dodging another hit. She aimed a punch at his face and missed narrowly.

"How can you do this to me? Everyone else is married… and we're going nowhere. If anything we're going backwards, we haven't been like a couple in a year!" She yelled. He swallowed hard, he had known this was coming ever since Mary and Gray got married.

"I'm sorry I've been busy with work." He said awkwardly. "Do you want to get married?"

"This isn't about me. If you loved me enough you would have proposed already!" Ann shouted, aiming yet another punch at his face. Cliff dodged the punch and was beginning to regret having a tomboy for a girlfriend.

"I… I… I do love you, but I'm not ready for that… not yet." He told her softly, he tried to reach out and pull her into a hug but she avoided his touch.

"Not ready? NOT READY! We've been together for three years and you're still not ready? When the hell will you be ready?" She demanded, screaming out the words so her throat began to burn.

"I… don't know Ann. When I have something for you, a house where we can live." He told her, his voice soft.

"Don't you realize that those things don't mean a thing to me? We can live here until you get a house, besides you have a job, can't you afford a house yet?" She asked, on the verge of angry tears.

"Ann, when we're ready I'll propose." He promised, his eyes begging with her to understand.

"We'll never be ready at this rate Cliff, we're drifting apart. It's now or never, so here's the ultimatum, buy me a blue feather and propose or say goodbye. Because I'm through with this Cliff, I'm moving on." She shouted, then before she left the room added. "And, oh yeah, I kissed Jack last night." She then stormed out tears dripping down her face, leaving Cliff in a state of complete shock.

Karen stormed back into the house after spending most of the day avoiding Rick. She was exhausted, physically and emotionally, and all she wanted to do was go to bed and cry herself to sleep. She slipped into the house quietly and surveyed the room, it looked like Rick was out.

"Hello dear." Lillia said gently. Karen turned around and smiled weakly, it was rare for Lillia to leave her room much nowadays.

"Hey Lillia, are you okay, do you need me to take you to the hospital?" Karen asked quickly. Lillia shook her head and smiled.

"No dear, I need to talk to you." She said beckoning for Karen to sit next to her on the couch.

"Okay, what's up?" Karen asked sitting down gently. Lillia smiled gently and stroked a strand of Karen's hair out of her face.

"Karen, sweetheart, I know you don't love Rick. I know you want to be with Jack and I can see what this is doing to both of you. So why don't you just give up, forget about the shame it'll bring, people will understand, they can see you're hurting. Please, you're hurting him and he's hurting you, you'd both be better off." Lillia told her gently. Karen nodded softly, trust Lillia to give her the right advice.

"It's not so much everyone else, I can't bring shame to my family and shame to your family. It would ruin the foundations this town is built on. Besides, we don't have courts or anything, we can't get divorced." She said bitterly.

"You could get the marriage annulled." Lillia suggested. Karen shook her head.

"No, we'd have to both travel to America and Rick wouldn't do that. Even you couldn't convince him. Besides, we're just chicken farmers, we don't have the money to get divorced and we probably don't have a good enough case to get annulled and Rick wouldn't agree. It's hopeless." Karen said darkly. Lillia bit her lip, her daughter-in-law was right, it was a pretty hopeless situation. She knew she couldn't convince Rick to give her up, he'd loved Karen since he was four. She was the only one for him, Karen knew it and Lillia knew it. It broke Lillia's heart to see them suffering, fighting for something that neither of them truly wanted.

"We're stuck until the end." Karen said, her voice was quiet and soft. Then she cried in Lillia's arms, broken.

* * *

So Karen's still stuck, but she still doesn't know about Ann and Jack. But when she does, there'll be fireworks! Also of the literal kind...

Oh also I want to point out that I know very little about getting divorces or annulments, I just know what I've got from Tv.


	26. The Green Eyed Monster

Thanks all you guys for the reviews: **Kumiko Katawa, DoubleKK, Shippostail, Awesome Rapidash and kelly28**! Thanks alot guys, much appreciated:)

* * *

26. The green-eyed monster

Jack looked at his clock on the wall and sighed, only an hour until he had to get up for farm work and he hadn't slept a wink. He'd had a painful feeling in the pit of his stomach and an ache in his mind, so he just couldn't sleep. He rolled over for the thirtieth time that night and rested his aching head on his pillow. The ticking of his clock seemed to taunt him as he tried to salvage at least an hour's sleep.

He was filled with guilt, confusion, torment and nervousness. He just didn't know what was going to happen, he didn't know what he wanted to happen. But maybe he and Ann could have something, maybe become close. But then, what would he tell Karen. He could imagine her face if he told her that he'd kissed her best friend, man that was some kiss. It was nothing compared to how he'd felt kissing Karen, but then maybe he'd never feel that again. Maybe it would be better if Ann told her. He heard his alarm clock ring, an ache driving into his brain, and slammed his hand down on it.

"If I get through today, it will be a miracle." He told Happy, his always deliriously happy dog.

"Woof?" Happy asked in confusion. Jack laughed and patted his faithful companions head.

"Yeah." He told his dog, adding to the canine's confusion due to his lack of understanding of the English language. Yawning, Jack wolfed down his breakfast, a random jar of jam he'd found in the depths of the fridge before changing into his farm overalls. He knew immediately stepping into the rainy summer day, it would be a tough one.

Ann pulled on her overalls and glared at her reflection in the mirror, her hair pulled into its usual plait. She had put on some eyeliner and lip gloss just to make a good impression. She then scowled, it wouldn't be so much a good impression as an "I'm desperate" impression. She heard a knock on the door and went to open it, silently cursing whoever it would be. It was Cliff, as if he hadn't caused her enough aggravation.

"Hey, erm, Ann I was on my way to work and I came to… talk. Do you love Jack?" He asked quickly. She rolled her eyes and made a face.

"Is that any of your business?" She asked calmly. He frowned, resisting the temptation to shake her for the stupid question.

"Well since I'm still currently your boyfriend it'd be really nice to know." He said sarcastically. Ann walked to the door and brushed past him before turning back.

"Well let me solve that problem," she said, opening the door. "As of now, you're not my boyfriend."

Cliff watched helplessly as she walked out of the door, this was not going to be his day.

Ann walked onto the farm and found Jack again, he smiled to greet her and allowed her to follow him into the house. As soon as he turned around to ask her what was wrong her lips were crashed upon his. He ran his hand down her back, stroking her hair and returning the kiss with passion.

"Well I was going to ask where we were, so I guess that's my answer. No… Seriously Ann, what are we doing?" He asked, his eyes shining with confusion.

"I… really don't know. I mean, I know I like you, I know I have feelings for you. I told Cliff last night, that I would leave him if he didn't make up his mind soon and then this morning I kinda dumped him. So now we're not doing anything wrong…" She told him, before leaning down to kiss him again.

"What about Karen, this would kill her." He stated, leaning back away from Ann.

"But she has Rick, I mean I know it'll bug her, but had she paid attention to my problems I might have been able to fix them by now. You're not hers anymore, so… I'll tell her tonight. See how she reacts…" She said softly. Jack had to admit, they were good points.

"What if she tries to kill herself, because of us?" He demanded, his voice harsh. Ann shuddered at the thought, she couldn't have her best friends blood on her hands.

"Well, if she reacts badly, then we stop. If she's okay with it, then pour the champagne!" Ann said with a grin. Jack nodded and Ann leaned in for another kiss, which this time was returned eagerly.

Karen woke up and blinked, her night had been terrible. She had barely slept and now she could hear some noises coming from the kitchen. Reluctantly she swung herself out of bed and headed towards the sound. In front of her was a big spread of breakfast and Rick with oven gloves on. She groaned at his sickly sweetness.

"What did you do?" She moaned and watched with delight as his smile faded.

"Well I decided I haven't been appreciating you enough lately, so I made breakfast." He said happily. She returned his smile with a glare as he ushered her to sit down.

"I don't want _you _to appreciate me, I _want_ you to leave me the hell alone." She said angrily, tipping her plate of breakfast into the bin and watching Rick's horror.

"I'll eat at the inn, toodles." She said smirking as Rick began to tidy away the spread he had worked so hard on. Karen frowned, there was a time that she would have actually cared how she had hurt Rick's feelings. But right now she was beyond guilt, she just didn't care. She didn't bother going to the inn for breakfast, after seeing Rick she'd kind of lost her appetite, besides she was in her pajamas and couldn't face even more public humiliation right now. So she headed to the one place that brought her most comfort, the farm.

Jack wasn't working out in the fields and his hoe was discarded at the side, she frowned, that was odd. She decided he'd probably be inside, eating breakfast or something, so she knocked on the door. There was no answer so she gently pushed it open as it was unlocked. The sight before her shocked and horrified her, her ex-boyfriend and one and only love was kissing her best friend. They were lying on the sofa, lips sealed together like glue. Karen felt her insides begin to burn, her eyes flashing with rage and jealousy. They both turned to see her, they both looked like deer caught in the headlights, caught red handed. She saw that Ann had opened her mouth to speak and she raised her hand to silence her.

"Don't okay, just don't." She said, tears streaming down her face as she ran out of the door. She didn't know where to go now, she couldn't go to her two favorite places, the inn and Jack's house, now they were places of the enemy. In fact she didn't feel like facing any of her friends right now, so she headed home. She found Rick crying over the ruined breakfast, and for the first time in ages she felt compassion.

"I'm so sorry Rick." She said, the tears still fresh in her eyes. He looked at her with sat eyes, studying her to see if she was being genuine.

"It's nothing. Just breakfast." He said softly with a weak smile. He cleared up the rest of the plates silently while Karen went to cry on the sofa. He didn't want to disturb her crying, he knew he'd only make things worse. But after he'd finished clearing up he decided to give it a chance, things couldn't get much worse between them. He gently rested his hand on her back and stroked it soothingly.

"Karen, what's wrong?" He asked gently. She looked up at him with hurt eyes, red and swollen with pain.

"It's nothing." She said trying to wipe her eyes. Rick slowly sat down next to her and cautiously pulled her into a hug and she let him.

"You wouldn't cry if it was nothing. I know you hate me, but you can tell me anything." He said gently and he meant it. Even if it was, I love Jack and I kissed him, he could take it. After hearing her hateful words for a long time now, he didn't care anymore and as she began to care less her words became more hateful.

"Anything?" She asked, her eyes big with pain. Rick took a deep breath and nodded, giving her a reassuring smile. Even when she hated him, and her eyes were filled with tears, she was beautiful.

"I saw Jack kissing Ann. It's complete betrayal Rick and I know you're gonna hate me for caring… but I still love him and Ann is my best friend." She told him frantically. He swallowed hard, he had known he wouldn't like it.

"I know you still love him and I know you hate me. But… Karen sweetheart, you can't expect him not to move on. I know you hate it but you're married to me, he can't just remain hopeful forever that you'll leave me." Rick said, trying to break it to her gently without making her hate him more. But he should have known that would be impossible.

"I hate you! She's my best friend, anyone but her!" She shouted before breaking into tears again.

"I know this is besides the point but… I thought she was with Cliff." Rick said. Karen nodded, she had thought the same thing.

"Me too, but Ann said she had been having issues, I guess those were them." She said softly.

"Ann's been having love issues too?" Rick asked sadly. Karen gave him a sarcastic smile.

"We haven't had love issues, we've had hate issues. But I never gave her a chance to tell me her problems, I was so wrapped up in my own." She said guiltily. Rick stroked her hair gently and sighed.

"She can't blame you Karen, you've had to deal with more than anyone should in the past years, and some of that was caused by me." He said before seeing Karen's face. "Fine most of it was caused by me. But come on, if Jack hadn't faked his own death none of this would have happened."

Karen raised her eyebrows. "He didn't fake his death, he got lost at sea…" she almost smiled at how farfetched that sounded. "And besides, don't tell me you're not even a little bit happy about how things turned out for you."

"Oh yeah, I'm ecstatic that my wife hates me and we're stuck in a crappy marriage." He snorted and Karen grinned.

"We're stupid." Karen said after a pause.

"No, just doomed." Rick said with a sigh. Karen nodded and then smiled gently.

"Why can't we always be like this? Why do I always have to hate you, and you always have to be annoying. Why can't we act like we are now?" She asked. Rick shrugged and kissed her gently on the head. He was glad that they weren't arguing for once.

"It just doesn't last. I love you though." He assured her gently. She looked into his grey eyes and saw the truth behind his words.

"Why?" She asked. She really wanted to know how he could love her after she treated him so badly.

"Because I love who you are. I don't love you for how you treat me, I love you for everything you are. That's what everyone loves you for, hell if they loved you for how you treated them you wouldn't have any friends." He joked. She gave him a grin for his efforts and slapped him on the knee.

"Hey I treat my friends well." She argued indignantly.

"Sure you do, because you were just telling me about how you listened to Ann all the time." He said sarcastically. She frowned, he was right. She shuddered at the image of walking in on them and she wanted Jack to feel the pain she had. Slowly she leaned over and kissed Rick passionately, shocking him completely. Rick pulled away for a second and then looked her in the eyes.

"You're just doing this to get back at Jack, aren't you?" He asked.

"Pretty much." Karen told him calmly before kissing him again.

Ann paced around Jack's farmhouse nervously, repeating "oh god, oh god, oh god" over and over again.

"Ann, you're making me dizzy." Jack complained from the sofa he sat on. She turned and looked at him with worried azure eyes.

"Sorry, but she wasn't supposed to find out like that. We were supposed to ask her if she was okay with it, but she won't be now!"

"No. You're right." He admitted. "Okay, how about this, how about we ask her to come to the inn tonight and we'll talk it all through."

"Yeah, good idea. Why don't we just go to hers and Rick's tonight to talk ,rather than scare away the customers?" Ann suggested.

"Because with witnesses they can't kill us? Okay fine, we'll go to theirs." Jack agreed. Ann nodded with satisfaction then pulled Jack into another heated kiss.

Karen woke up to a knocking on the door, she groaned and sat up. She felt Rick next to her and groaned again, she felt so unclean.

"Rick wake up and get dressed. Someone's at the door." She told him sharply. She then slipped into a rope and headed down to the door. There stood Ann and Jack, both looking nervous.

"Get out. I don't want to talk to you." She said, trying to slam the door in their faces.

"Well Karen we need to talk." Ann said pushing her way into the house. Karen shrugged angrily. Rick chose that moment to arrive from upstairs in his robe and Karen mentally slapped herself.

"Oh my god, you didn't?" Ann asked with shock. Rick nodded smugly and Jack gasped.

"Oh what, so Karen this is your revenge, are you trying to get me back?" Jack demanded.

"Pretty much," Karen said with a shrug. Ann placed a hand on Jack's shoulder to calm him down and stared at Karen purposefully.

"Right, well I came here to talk to you. Karen, you and I will talk upstairs, boys you can do what you want." Ann ordered.

"Yeah, but try not to get blood on the carpet, it stains." Karen said dismissively.

Upstairs Ann and Karen sat on the bed eyeing each other with anger and guilt. After a few moments of silence, Ann spoke.

"I'll start then shall I? Look, I'm so sorry you found out that way, I mean he was comforting me before and it just sort of happened. I mean we had been together twice before and we still wanted to be sure it was something before we told you. I wanted to tell you and ask if it was okay, but…" She finished off, while Karen continued to glare at her.

"You just decided to stab me in that back. I will _never _be okay with this." She told Ann stubbornly, who shivered at Karen's words. "So as long as you guys are together, you're _not _my friend. Is that clear? This is an ultimatum, him or me."

Her words left Ann speechless for a while, thinking.

"Fine then," Ann said giving up. "I pick him, because he never gave me an ultimatum."

Meanwhile the guys were circling each other downstairs, spitting angry words at each other.

"You've really done it now Jack Sprat, I mean she hates me but it's nothing compared to how much she's gonna hate you." Rick said smirking.

"Yeah, you're right, you win, you get the girl. But she'll always hate you and deep inside she'll always love me." Jack said angrily. "You don't deserve her."

"I know. But you're right, I win. So you decide to have anything that comes your way, even though Ann has a boyfriend. You're just out to ruin this town, aren't you?" He spat back. Jack was just about to aim a punch at his face when Ann and Karen appeared downstairs.

"It's done, let's go Jack." Ann said coldly.

"Did Karen say it was okay?" He asked innocently.

"No, but I don't need to worry about hurting my friend anymore. Goodbye Karen, I won't be seeing you anymore." Ann said bitterly. Karen nodded, she'd lost everything in one night, and all she had left was Rick and maybe Popuri. Jack watched his love as he was pulled out of the house, it hurt so much to see her like that. Karen sat, lost and alone on her bed, the burning tears trickling down her skin. She felt unclean and sick. She hated Rick and she'd slept with him to get back at Jack and now she was completely alone.

Weeks passed after the incident and Karen and Ann remained true to their words, neither spoke to the other. Popuri kept out of it, avoiding both if possible. Jack tried to talk to Karen but she only ignored him. Rick was smug as ever but was feeling Karen's pain in her hatred towards him. Cliff was feeling just as alone as Karen, with his light taken away from him and he knew he had to get her back. It was coming up to the fireworks festival and Karen began to feel depressed with the knowledge that Jack and Ann would be going together.

"I mean it's not as if I still love Jack…" Karen protested, continuing the long speech she had been making for an hour.

"Hmmm," Popuri said boredly, plaiting a strand of her bright pink hair.

"But I mean Ann should know that she can't have him because I'm still in love with him and friends don't do that…" Karen continued, talking more to herself than Popuri.

"Uh… but you just said…" Popuri began in confusion.

"So she really should just go back to Cliff, I mean it's hurting him too." Karen continued, ignoring Popuri completely. Popuri sighed and decided to change the subject.

"So… who are you going to the fireworks festival with tomorrow?" Popuri asked. Karen sighed deeply and fixed an angry look onto her pale features.

"Rick… isn't it obvious, I get to spend firework night with my darling husband." She said sarcastically. "And Ann will spend it with Jack, then they'll get married and have the fat grandchildren and I'll still be stuck with Rick."

"Erm… okay, well… I've got to go and see Kai… so, bye." Popuri said awkwardly. Karen let out a groan, once again she was left all by herself.

Ann and Jack sat facing each other, both stripped down to their underwear, panting heavily. Ann leaned over to kiss Jack once again but he looked into her deep blue eyes and smiled sheepishly.

"Are you sure you wanna do this Ann?" He asked awkwardly. Ann chuckled, not in a condescending way but more to tell him how cute he was being.

"Jack, if you're like that with every girl, it's no wonder you and Karen never slept together. We're not getting married." She said softly. Jack smiled, he was really starting to love Ann in the short weeks they had been together and soon it would blossom into full-fledged love if they let it. _"So why not?_" he wondered to himself. Maybe it was because every time he had thought about it, he had also thought about how much it might hurt Karen.

"Okay then…" He said nervously. Ann had to resist telling him how cute he was when he was insecure.

"Okay." She said softly, leaning back down into a deep kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him onto the bed, kissing him gently.

Jack and Ann woke up the morning of the fireworks festival side by side, laid on Jack's double bed in his cozy farmhouse. Ann snuggled up close to him and nuzzled his neck, as he stroked her hair gently.

"See, not married. It wasn't so bad was it?" Ann asked, trying to hide her insecurity. She was worried now that she'd pressures him into it, she knew that inside he truly only loved Karen. She didn't know whether he'd ever truly be hers, not with Karen there. But then again, she wondered if they wanted to have a big relationship, or maybe it was just a rebound relationship.

"No, not so bad…." He said softly, and she let a small giggle escape from her lips.

"Fireworks tonight, should be fun…" Ann said, running kisses from his neck down along his collarbone.

"That's tonight? Oh god Ann, I'm so sorry, but that's the night before my parents are leaving and I promised I'd have dinner with them." He said apologetically. Ann frowned and sat up.

"Well… that's okay, this way you have to make it up to me…" She said with a secretive smile. He grinned and kissed her gently on the lips.

"Yeah I guess I will." He said before slipping out of bed to change.

Karen groaned as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror, nothing she had done seemed to make her hair look right. She'd tied it up, curled it, straightened it, left it the same and even tried using some of Rick's gel in it, yet it still was untamable. She wanted to make Jack regret the decision he had made that fateful night a few weeks ago. But she knew it was unlikely that he would, it didn't matter how gorgeous she looked, he couldn't have her. Sighing she applied some makeup, a mask that might hide some of the pain in her features. She then made her way down with Rick to the beach.

Part of the thing Karen loved most about Firework night was the atmosphere, everyone managed to be calm and peaceful yet excited and loud at the same time. They all eagerly anticipated the fireworks while they ate the snacks they bought from Kai on the beach. For all the couples it was a romantic evening, yet for those alone it was a time of dreaming and hoping for better things. Down at the beach she spotted Ann alone and smirked, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

"What's wrong Ann, did your boyfriend realize he could do better?" She sneered spitefully. She gasped at herself, she had no idea all that cruelty lay within her.

"No," Ann said sadly. "He couldn't come, he had dinner with his parents."

"Shame," Karen said boredly and hurried over to sit next to Rick. Ann sighed and watched her, when had Karen learnt how to be so spiteful? She gazed out over the black ocean and waited for the coloured orbs of light to brighten up the ink black sky. She felt a hand on her back and turned round with a hopeful expression on her face. It faded when she saw Cliff.

"What do you want Cliff? I thought you were ignoring me." She said coolly. Cliff shook his head quickly, his shock of brown hair dancing around.

"No, I need to… ask you something important… now I know it's a bad time…" He began nervously.

"Oh God," Ann snorted. "You're not going to propose are you?" Her sarcastic expression faded when Cliff nodded.

"Oh god you are…" She said softly as Cliff produced the blue feather.

"I think I know the answer, but Ann Green, will you marry me?" He asked, a look of bright hope on his face. Ann swallowed hard and gasped. She still loved Cliff, a part of her always would, but now she had developing feelings for Jack, could she throw that all away?

"Why?" She asked softly.

"Because I realized that I didn't want to lose you. I mean, I didn't think we were ready but when I lost you I realized that I couldn't live without you, and I _was _ready." He told her, a calm smile on his face. He looked so calm telling her this, that was what she loved about him, he was so open with his feelings towards her. He was a shy man but when he really loved someone, he was completely honest with them.

"Oh gosh, Cliff, I don't know. I love you and before I so would have said yes, but now… I need to think about it." She said gently. A look of pain flashed across his face but he nodded, pocketing the blue feather.

"That's a bummer. Tell me when you make up your mind." He told her before disappearing into the shadows. Ann nodded gently and looked with tear filled eyes up at the fireworks that were about to start. She swallowed hard and looked up at the coloured lights dancing in the sky, blurred by her tears. She had a huge dilemma on her hands and she needed a friend to talk to. But right now, her only friend was Popuri and she always seemed busy with other happy couples nowadays. She would spend most of her time with Elli and Mary talking about married life. Karen had never done that, but she didn't exactly have a normal married life, not like the others. Ann sighed, the only friend that she had to talk to hated her guts right now, with good reason. If she was going to get her friend back she was going to have to sort things out, fast.

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Oooh well isn't there a twist... Who will Ann choose? 


	27. I Write Sins Not Tragedies

As usual I wanna thank you guys for all the reviews, smiles with appreciation. So here's the next part of the story, sorry about the delay i've had a lotta school work, sheepish smile.

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27. I Write Sins, Not Tragedies

Ann looked calmly into the mirror at her reflection, same blue eyes, so why did they look different now? Maybe it was the confusion behind them, she had a decision to make. She looked tiredly at the papers that littered her desk, they had both good points and bad points for picking Cliff and Jack. Still she had gotten nowhere. She sighed deeply and began to plait her hair, fingers sliding nimbly through the orange hair. At least she looked ready to face the hard day ahead, right now she had a job to do. She forced herself determinedly out of the stairs and across town to a familiar house and knocked on the door. Karen opened the door, surprise lit in her tired green eyes. She opened the door wider to allow Ann in.

"Hey." Ann said nervously, taking a seat on the offered chair. Karen nodded silently and put on the kettle.

"I'm sorry Karen. I… well I'm guessing there's nothing I can really say to make you forgive me. But I need your advice, will you help me, for old times sake?" Ann asked hopefully. Karen considered it slowly, adding up the pros and cons of helping her ex-friend.

"Why can't you ask Popuri?" She asked eventually. Ann sighed and smiled gratefully when Karen handed her a cup of tea.

"She's busy, haven't you noticed, she's happily married and we're… not. She doesn't get these things, not any more." Ann said quietly. Karen nodded slowly in agreement, Ann was right.

"Yeah, fine. What do you need to ask, Ann?" Karen asked softly, cautiously sitting down directly opposite the ginger haired girl.

"Yeah, well. Okay, this is gonna be hard, I'm not sure I'd call it a long story but…" She caught a loathing look from Karen and continued hurriedly. "Well Jack and I, the night before last we…" She began softly, seeing a look of pain flash across Karen's face. "Yeah and then it was the fireworks festival and as you know I had kinda broken up with Cliff, we were sorta on a break. But Cliff proposed to me and I told him I'd think about it and now… I don't know what to do."

"You're asking me?" Karen asked incredulously. "You know I'm gonna say go with Cliff just so you won't be with Jack." Ann nodded gently before looking at Karen with big, blue eyes.

"Yeah, that's what Karen the jealous ex-girlfriend would tell me to do, but what about the small part of Karen that still cares?" Ann asked softly. Karen cast her eyes down and nodded again, taking a deep breath.

"A good friend told me once to follow my heart. That's what you should do, follow your heart." She said sincerely. Ann cocked her head for a minute and smiled.

"Yeah, I bet your good friend never realized what useless advice that is." Ann laughed. Karen smiled and giggled too.

"Talk to both of them, tell Jack. Trust me, he'll be understanding." Karen assured her.

"I do, with my life." Ann said, smiling warmly. Karen smiled back awkwardly and stood up. Ann beamed at her one last time and headed out to the house that Jack built… or the house that his grandfather built… whichever.

Ann took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the farmhouse, finding Jack sleeping soundly on his bed. Ann grinned at how angelic Jack looked when he was sleeping, so peaceful.

"Wakey, wakey sleepy head." She said with a giggle. Jack woke up slowly and blinked the dreams away, smiling at Ann.

"Oh hey, I guess I overslept this morning." He said, checking the clock and frowning. He sat up and gazed at Ann with curiosity.

"Yeah, I guess I underslept." She said awkwardly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, and I'm guessing there's a reason. Spill." He said sitting up and watching her intently.

"Right, well. Cliff proposed."

"Ah."

"Yes." She said. A brief period of silence ensued.

"What are you gonna do?" Jack asked, without even a hint of hurt or jealousy, he sounded completely indifferent.

"I was hoping you could tell me."

"Well I can't."

"I know." She said, looking towards the floor. She really wished he could just tell her all the answers. She wished he could tell her to say no to Cliff and to be with him. But she knew he wouldn't and she respected him for that.

"You really want me to tell you what I think you should do?" He asked, making sure she was definitely sure. She nodded to give her approval.

"Go back to Cliff." He said shortly, as though it were really that simple.

"Why, don't you want me?" Ann asked her voice filled with hurt.

"Of course I do. Ann you're so great, so sweet, I love so many things about you. But you know, I don't think it would ever be love. But you would never love me either, the truth is you do love Cliff. Plus what can I offer you when you know I'm still in love with Karen." He said gently.

"So what, you're saying our relationship was doomed from the beginning?" She asked angrily.

"Pretty much." Jack admitted with a shrug. "I'm not saying it was some… fling. Cos it wasn't, there were some real feelings there, but we both knew it wouldn't last. Don't give up what you could have with Cliff."

"I hate it that you're right. So this is it…" She said awkwardly.

"Yeah I guess it is, good luck! Friends?" He asked holding out his hand. She shook it and grinned.

"Always." She told him. She then headed towards the door and then turned back briefly. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"I'll live, I always seem to." He said with a wink. She smiled and headed over to tell Cliff the good news.

After all his farming work was done, Jack collapsed on his bed, ready to fall asleep. But he knew that the inn would be having celebrations for Ann and Cliff and she would take it as a bad sign if he missed it. He decided just to rest his eyes for a little while… Suddenly there was a knock on the door. He reluctantly went to answer it and found a grinning Karen on the doorstep.

"Oh finally, the girl I ordered from the shopping channel has arrived." He joked. Karen raised her eyebrows giving him an unimpressed look.

"You still don't look ready for the celebrations. Ann will kill you if you miss them." She stated, eying his clothing with disapproval.

"And you're here why?" He asked, forcing Karen to blush.

"I came… to apologize. I shouldn't have stopped being your friend just because you started seeing someone… granted my best friend, but we won't get into that. I mean you're allowed to see people, it's what two, three years since we were together? And I'm married for God's sake! So yeah…" She said shuffling her feet. He smiled and went to hug her.

"Uh-uh, you're all sweaty and I'm meant to look good for the party. You have a shower and _I _will pick out an outfit for you." She said bossily, flashing him a quick grin.

"You know I can pick out my own outfit…" He protested, but was silenced when Karen pointed to the bathroom. She picked out a pair of casual jeans and a nice black shirt and waited for him to come back from the shower. He returned with just a towel around his waist, and Karen flushed a shade of red as she couldn't take her eyes off his well muscled physique. He changed while she was told to face the wall, although she protested it was nothing she hadn't seen before. Then they were on their way to the inn. Jack laced his fingers between Karen's and they skipped off merrily.

The inn was decorated beautifully, which was amazing given that they hadn't had long to prepare. Every single shelf was covered in tea lights and a big banner saying "congratulations" hung across the bare oak ceiling. The tables were covered in drinks and refreshments, plenty of delicious looking fruits and vegetables. But the most beautiful sight as far as both Karen and Jack were concerned was Ann's happy face. They greeted her happily and both apologized for everything, then the corny hugs followed.

"Why a blue feather?" Jack asked as he and Karen sat down at one of the tables.

"Why not?" Karen replied with a shrug. Jack raised an eyebrow and asked his question again.

"Well it's tradition. People have been using blue feathers since… since ages ago. I don't know why it became tradition. I think it's because blue birds on this island were rare, back before anyone from other places settled here and it was tradition that a young man would climb high above the mountains to find it for the girl he loved. Kind of like a romantic quest, because if he loved her enough there was nothing he couldn't do." She said gazing off into space with a dreamy look on her face. "But now it's so easy, a guy can just buy one from the supermarket."

"Seems like kind of a cheat…" Jack remarked. Karen nodded.

"Yeah, but I guess if the feelings are true, it doesn't matter. I guess that's also part of the reason no one gets divorced here in Mineral Town, the feelings are supposed to be so pure after the quest that there is no need. I kinda wish the quest was still there today." She said distantly.

"You think that if the quest for the blue feather was still a custom today Rick would never have been able to propose to you?" Jack said, it was more of a statement than a question. Karen nodded slowly and looked at the door, her only comfort the fact that Rick hadn't even been told about the party.

"That's not true Karen." He said and she looked at him inquiringly. "His feelings for you were true, you just didn't return them." She snorted and leaned her chin on her hand. There was a ringing sound as Ann tapped on her wine glass, trying to get the chattering townspeople's attention.

"Hello everybody," the chatter continued. "HELLO! SHUTUP!" Ann yelled. Then there was silence.

"Thank you," she breathed. "Well I guess you all know why you're here. Cliff and I are getting married _finally. _We're planning our wedding for sometime this spring, cos Cliff's busy in fall with the wine harvesting and winter is just nasty weather… I mean no offence Mary and Gray… Well anyway, spring's the date and of course we'll post a bulletin in rose square, so keep your eyes peeled. So that's my announcement, eat, drink, be merry then get the hell out of my inn."

"She's a great host isn't she?" Cliff said wrapping an arm around his fiancée. So the party continued, with mass drinking and mass drunken slurring. At the end of the night the entire town, excluding Rick and Lillia, sang knees up mother brown. A tradition that had somehow been transferred from England, and everyone enjoyed it thoroughly.

When the night finally ended and Karen and Jack had helped to clear up like good friends they began to make their slow way home. The gradually cooling summer breeze wrapped itself around Karen's neck, cooling her skin. She felt a strange comfort being walked home by Jack, she still felt safest with him.

"I don't want to go home." She said out loud accidentally. Jack studied her and then smiled.

"I would say you could stay at mine, but I know Rick would blow a fuse and attack me with his chickens. His chickens are scary, have you seen them fight in the chicken festival?" He said feigning a shudder.

"It's true, but you should have seen him cry when I threatened to eat one."

"You threatened to eat one?" Jack asked incredulously. Karen grinned and nodded.

"What? We never have chicken in the house." She protested and Jack chuckled. Somehow during their chatter they ended up at Jack's farmhouse and stood outside awkwardly.

"You wanna come in?" Jack asked softly opening the door.

"Sure." Karen said without even a moments thought. They sat down on the comfy couch and faced each other.

"Do you remember when you got really, really drunk here?" Jack asked grinning. Karen flushed a violent shade of red at the memory, she had practically forced herself on him on that occasion.

"I wish I didn't." She said with embarrassment and he laughed.

"Ah well, I really shouldn't have been so… sensitive about it all. I mean we never did…" He finished off, he knew he really shouldn't be mentioning it. But it had been on his mind for a while, he regretted it slightly, but the moment had never arisen.

"No… but you never seemed to want to." She said sadly. She had always wondered if it was because of her, maybe he didn't feel she was good enough for him.

"No, but there was never the perfect moment." He said in his defense. She snorted and made a face.

"There were plenty of moments, you just never acted on them." She told him.

"There was never _the_ perfect moment." He protested, casting his eyes towards the floor and trying to think of better excuses.

"It didn't have to be the perfect moment, with you, the time wouldn't have mattered." She told him, her voice was quiet and gently.

"That's what Ann said." Jack admitted, they were both right and he knew it. Karen was silent for a moment, her thoughts all running around desperately inside her head, trying to figure something out.

"Did you and Ann ever…" She began, before seeing his face flush red. "Oh my god… you did, didn't you… I mean… I didn't believe her…"

"Well… yeah." He admitted, he felt his heart begin to sink to his stomach, he knew she'd be mad. He had been right as his face stung after a hard hand hit his cheek.

"Why was there "the perfect moment" with her and not with me?" She asked, her heart aching with hurt. He swallowed hard, trying to find a suitable answer for her question.

"It wasn't the perfect moment, but she convinced me it didn't have to be a perfect moment." He told her. Karen's face contorted in anger, before cringing into a frown. Tears danced in her eyes, taunting Jack with the pain they held.

"Why couldn't you see that when we were together?" She asked, the tears beginning to make their wet path down her cheeks.

"Because I was an idiot then! I love you more than I've ever loved Ann so that doesn't matter." He said, finding his voice raised. Karen took a deep breath and he was sure she was ready to shout at him. But to his astonishment she nodded.

"You're right, it doesn't matter. It's not as if we were together then anyway. It's just it hurts… I… I…" She stuttered, her voice shaking. Jack took a step towards her, his arms wrapping around her back supportively.

"You…" He asked softly.

"I… still love you too." She breathed and before she knew it she felt his soft lips against hers. Gently engulfing her into a kiss that she'd hungered for, for so long. She wrapped her arms around him, deepening the kiss and closing her eyes tightly, shutting out all other thoughts. Slowly he slipped of her shirt and felt her silky skin beneath, running his hands gently down her back, sending tingles up and down her spine. She looked into his eyes, green meeting with brown and they knew, it was the right moment, not perfect, but… right.

Karen's eyelids fluttered open that morning and she felt warmth throughout her body. She nuzzled close to Jack feeling the happiness and warmth he provided her with. He had his arms wrapped around her and was still sleeping soundly, he looked like an angel when he slept. She stretched slowly and curled herself against his chest, pulling the soft duvet close around her. She had never felt like that after sleeping with Rick, never felt the happiness and longing to stay like that forever. She had always just wanted to leave, go out and get somewhere else away from him. She always felt so unclean and wanted to wash away his touch with a shower, but with Jack she felt shiny and new. She felt like a goddess, safe, protected and respected. He stretched and open his sleepy eyes slowly.

"Morning," he said with a grin. She smiled, a true and happy smile that he hadn't seen for a long time.

"Good morning." She said softly, and she meant it, it was the best morning she'd had in a long time.

"How'd ya sleep?" He asked casually.

"Best sleep for a while." She said happily and after a pause. "That was the perfect moment…. Besides, you don't snore."

"Hmm, that's good." He said planting a kiss on her cheek.

"Yeah, definitely made the night that much better." She grinned cheekily.

"Yeah, but Karen… what do we do now?" He asked, the question she had been avoiding. She placed a finger to his lips and shook her head.

"No, don't ask that… not yet. I just want to enjoy this, I don't want to think about the consequences." She said desperately.

"Well, do you want a shower? Then I'll make us breakfast." He said, stretching and standing up. She looked at his deliciously tanned body, his muscles were carved on him better than any sculpture.

"Really, shower and Breakfast in bed? You really know how to treat a girl." She said with a giggle.

"Sure do, you'll find a clean towel in there and as for girly shampoos… well you'll be glad to know I use 'em too." He said with a smile. She giggled and headed into the bathroom. After the shower she entered the kitchen with a white, fluffy towel wrapped around her, her hair forming in wet snakes from her head. She smiled to see a plate of toast and jam lying on the table for her. Rick would always go all out and make her a huge cooked breakfast, but Jack made her breakfast that was sweet and simple, which was precisely what she liked for breakfast.

"Sorry I couldn't make more… I never cook much for breakfast." He told her apologetically. She raised a hand and smiled.

"No, it's perfect. I hate to eat too much in the mornings. Rick always makes me an absolutely huge breakfast, I never eat it." She said wrinkling up her nose in disgust.

"About Rick…" Jack began and Karen sighed loudly.

"I thought I asked if we could finish this later." She said with annoyance. She began to munch her toast and watched his face for a reaction.

"You did, but I say we should talk now." He said firmly.

"When did you get so bossy?"

"When did you get so stubborn?" Jack retorted. She flicked back her hair and grinned.

"I've always been stubborn, you just never noticed it." She said lightly. He snorted and finished a slice of toast in a single mouthful.

"God, do you _inhale_ your food?" She asked, rolling her eyes. He swallowed his mouthful and nodded.

"Pretty much, does it bug you?" He asked casually. She shrugged and nibbled her toast delicately.

"No, I just never knew I was going out with a _pig._" She said, emphasizing the word playfully.

"Well it works then, cos you're stubborn as a mule." He retorted. She snorted and made a face. He laughed and went to put his empty plate away.

"So, I think we should talk about it now." He told her, sitting down and facing her.

"You know, I can see you talking but all I hear is _oink, oink, oink_." She said coolly. Jack simply laughed then faced her solemnly.

"Karen…" He said sternly and she sighed, like a child being chided by a parent.

"Yeah I know. All I know is I love you and… I can't get divorced, Rick doesn't have the money to pay and we can't get annulled because Rick doesn't want to and it's not a good case. So… so… what can you suggest?" She asked desperately.

"I don't know Karen. But I don't want to lose you again." He said, he sounded like a small child pleading with a parent to stay with them on the first day of school.

"Then don't. This goes against everything I've ever been taught in church or by my parents or anything but… I could stay married and we could still see each other." She suggested.

"So you mean… see each other in secret?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

"Well, what choice do we have? It's that or stop seeing each other altogether." She told him. He sighed and rested his forehead in his hands. He silently thought for a moment while Karen waited nervously.

"Yeah okay, as a short term plan. But what about long term?" He asked after a while.

"We… I'll get Rick to hate me so much that he wants a divorce, then we go to court in America and we figure it out." She said, smiling at her supposedly brilliant plan.

"Rick will never hate you Karen. You've done some crap to him over the last few years, and I know he's given as good as he got, but he has never hated you. Why do you think it will work this time?" He asked, wanted to believe the plan would work desperately.

"I can be worse than I have been and I can ask Lillia to keep dropping hints to him to divorce me." She said determinedly.

"Okay, so say that works. Can you deal with the shame, Karen?" He asked, his chocolaty brown eyes searching deep within her own emerald green ones. "Could you do it to your parents?"

"It doesn't matter. If they're worth caring about then they'll understand and if they don't… we'll move to your house in America." She said brightly.

"You'd do all that for me?" He asked smiling. Her face went serious and she nodded.

"I'd die for you." She promised. He looked into her eyes and nodded, he would do the same. He leaned over and planted a passionate kiss on her lips.

"Now I'd better change and go, I'll tell Rick I was avoiding him so I slept at the inn. Could you go and tell Ann what happened… wait are we going to tell Ann?" She asked, pausing while changing.

"Yeah, we'll need her help." He said with a nod. She smiled and continued to change into the previous nights clothes.

She snuck into the house, praying desperately that Rick had never realized she wasn't home. Sadly she saw him waiting for her as she walked into the house, ambush.

"Where have you been?" He demanded. His voice was low and dangerous, much like it had been when he attacked her while drunk.

"Morning honey," she said brightly. "There was a party last night, you know the one you weren't invited to. So I stayed at Ann's, I didn't want to be here where I can feel your filthy presence." Rick winced.

"Yeah, well it feels great to have your skank-whore presence back." He snarled. She just laughed and flicked her golden hair back haughtily.

"Skank-whore? Nice word Rick, what bargain bin did you get that from… or did you find it floating in the sewers where you belong." She said, her voice still maintaining its cheerful façade.

"Whatever Karen, I'm going to work. I'll see you when I get back, then maybe you can make this up to me…" He said, raising his eyebrows suggestively. He then turned and walked out the door. Karen cringed and made a barfing noise. She smirked and then headed out to the inn.

Once there, Ann hugged her tightly, skipping around the room. Karen grinned, she'd never seen Ann so happy.

"Oh my gosh, I love being engaged!" Ann said, acting liking a giddy schoolgirl. "And I heard your news, could be dangerous but ultimately I'm happy for you." Karen grinned, that was the Ann she knew, giving her a warning.

"I'm happy for us too. Erm… did Jack stay or is he back at the farm?" She asked, trying to sound casual.

"Ooh, already becoming desperate to see him. He's back at the farm… but do you want to stay and talk about… erm…" Ann said, her excitement fizzling out briefly. As happy as she was she couldn't finish her sentence. She had planned to finish it with either "boys" or "my wedding" but she realized how much she would sound like Popuri.

"Yes, we can talk about your wedding." Karen said rolling her eyes and Ann grinned. She threw her arms around Karen and let her up to the bedroom. Once there she handed her some bridal magazines.

"Oh my god, help me pick my dress!" She said happily and Karen nodded slowly.

"The future's looking brighter already." Karen mused, flicking through the magazine. Ann nodded quickly and beamed at her. Karen grinned, things were definitely looking up.

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See... I'm not such a bad person! 


	28. Dirty Little Secret

Hey guys, sorry about the hugely long delay, you must really hate me... but here is the next chapter... finally. Thank you for the reviews guys, thank you **Mike The Snowman **for the information about annulment, it's a big help :).

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28. Dirty Little Secret

The days had gone by and Rick's mood had not improved, but now Karen found herself laughing at him. He tried so hard to be intimidating but now she couldn't care less, she was stronger. She couldn't believe she'd ever been so scared of him, it was almost embarrassing.

She was once again smiling at Rick's ramblings over how she'd left the chicken coop open and one of the chickens had been eaten by a fox.

"Karen, that was totally irresponsible!" Rick yelled, his eyes still welling up with tears over the loss of his bird. Karen shrugged and continued to comb her hair and smile at her reflection in the mirror.

"Yeah well… I don't really see it as my responsibility." She said, her voice perfectly neutral. This succeeded in making Rick angrier, causing his face to swell like he had been stung by a whole hive of bees.

"But Karen, I told you I was staying at the inn late and asked if you could shut the door!" Rick whined, his voice sounding like nails on a blackboard.

"Do you remember me saying that I would?" She asked, finally turning to face him, her light eyebrows raised.

"Well no… but I know you heard me!" Rick argued and she shrugged.

"Case closed then, I never said that I would." She said. Rick's eyes filled with more tears as he held back anger. Karen however, was thoroughly enjoying herself. She'd heard him loud and clear and had simply not been bothered to shut the coop, instead leaving the coop wide open, a free buffet for any predators. In fact, she was surprised no more chickens had been scoffed by the foxes of Mineral town.

"Karen! Rick Junior is dead now because of you! I found what was left of his mangled corpse near Mother's Hill last night!" He shouted, causing her to smirk even more.

"Oh boo hoo, sorry I let your best friend die… what was his name…? Oh that's right, _Rick Junior_." She said, pronouncing each letter of the name with a smirk. It had its desired affect, causing Rick to run off crying. Karen grinned and finished fixing her hair, before heading out and taking a deep gulp of air.

"Morning Poe!" Karen greeted, spotting her small friend heading off towards the inn. Popuri beamed and skipped over to her, bowing her head in greeting.

"Hey Kar, it's a beautiful morning. I was just heading over to the inn, are you going?" Popuri asked sweetly. Karen shook her hair and glanced over towards the farm.

"No I'm heading to Ja… Mother's hill. I need the fresh air, Rick's blaming me for killing one of his chickens." She said heaving an exasperated sigh. Popuri's face contorted in horror and Karen mentally smacked herself, she'd forgotten that Popuri also had an obsessive love of chickens.

"A chicken died? Which one? Oh my god Karen, what did you do?" Popuri asked in horror.

"It was Rick Junior, and I shot it." Karen joked and seeing the horror on Popuri's face realized it wasn't the most tactful thing she could have done.

"You… you…" Popuri stammered, her bottom lips quivering uncontrollably.

"No Poe! I was joking; obviously I'm not very funny… I accidentally left the gate open and a fox got in." She said, forcing her face to turn serious. Popuri seemed to be keeping back tears as she nodded. Eventually she asked if Rick would be holding a funeral for it and Karen had to stop herself laughing, that was just extreme.

"Yes… well of course Rick will be burying it. I don't know yet if he's planning a ceremony, but I'm sure you can go to the burial." Karen said, trying her hardest not to laugh. Popuri nodded solemnly and gave Karen a hug, telling her that she was sorry for the loss. Karen smiled and nodded, pretending to be remotely sad before finally Popuri left.

"Wacky," she mused to herself as she followed the path to the farm.

She found Jack in the farmhouse, waiting for her patiently, she loved it when he waited.

"Hey, you're late." He said, feigning a serious voice, like a teacher to a student. Karen flicked back her hair and flashed him a surprised smile.

"Oh am I?" She said innocently, looking at a non-existent watch on her wrist. Jack grinned and pulled her into a passionate kiss.

"I killed Rick's chicken last night." Karen said with a sigh, as soon as the kiss had ended. Jack burst out laughing immediately, the response that Karen had had too. _"We are so soul mates," _she thought to herself.

"So how'd you do it? Shotgun, axe, hoe, poison in the food?" Jack asked with a smirk. She feigned a look of hurt and then smiled.

"Do you really think I'm psychotic? No I just "accidentally" left the coop door open." She said doing air quotations.

"Oh that's brilliant!" Jack said with a grin and Karen smiled proudly. She kissed Jack on the cheek and then sat next to him on the sofa.

"You wanna watch a movie?" She asked eventually and he shrugged.

"Sure why not? What do you want to watch?" He asked, pointing to a vast selection of videos.

"Hmmm, I'm in the mood for something sad, dunno why… oooh Bambi!" She said grabbing the video.

"Oh god no!" Jack said quickly, reaching to grab the video out of Karen's hand. "I think you've had enough killing of innocent animals for one day, let's watch something else…"

"Why?" Karen asked her face blank. Jack bit his lip and struggled to think of an excuse.

"Well, we should watch something romantic… cos we're a couple." He said, arousing Karen's suspicion. She raised her eyebrows and looked back and forth from the tape to him. Suddenly she realized why he didn't want to watch Bambi.

"Oh my god! Bambi makes you cry, admit it! You're all sensitive!" She said with a triumphant grin.

"Am not, I just don't want you to cry." He said defensively. Karen kissed him on the cheek and smiled mockingly.

"Aww baby, does the wittle deer's mom dying make you sad, do you want me to hold your hand?" She asked patronizingly. He frowned and grabbed the tape.

"Fine then, we'll watch Bambi, but don't blame me if you cry." He said, shoving the tape into the machine while Karen just smirked.

After the movie had finished Jack sat surrounded by tissues, his eyes red and swollen from crying. He blew his nose loudly on a tissue and she grinned, watching in amusement.

"Why does Bambi's mom have to die? Why? Poor Bambi all alone, and his dad does next to nothing! It's so sad!" Jack sniffled, while Karen cradled him in her arms.

"It's just a movie! You laughed when the _actual _chicken died!" She accused incredulously. Jack smiled sheepishly and began to pick up the scattered tissues.

"Yeah, but that chicken didn't have an adorably cute son." He protested forcing her to smile in agreement. She glanced at her watch and sighed, it was time for her to go home to the chicken boy.

"Well I've gotta go home now, before chicken boy gets all suspicious." She said with a sigh, placing her hands on her hips in annoyance. Jack smiled weakly and went to kiss her goodbye, pulling her into a passionate kiss and embrace. He smiled at her, his golden-brown eyes twinkling with love.

"Damn I wish I didn't have to go…" She said, reluctantly heading towards the door. He grabbed onto her hand and held tight, pulling her back into the delightfully warm comfort of his arms.

"Then don't." He told her, his voice encouraging and his offer tempting. His lips tricked a trail of kisses up her neck and onto her lips again making her shiver with the sensation.

"No, I'd better go or Rick'll throw a hissy fit." She said grimly, kissing him once more goodbye. She then hurried quickly to the door and into the unwelcoming outside air, before she lost all her resolve.

After checking that the house was empty and Rick was not waiting impatiently for her Karen headed to the inn to find Ann. Their friendship was a lot better since Cliff had proposed, so she really had to thank him.

"Hey Ann," she greeted, taking a comfortable seat opposite her friend against a clean inn table. Ann looked up from her magazine, her bright blue eyes glimmering with joy.

"Oh Karen, look at these dresses! Which one would look best on me?" Ann asked, showing her a couple of the circled dresses. Karen almost fell out of her seat with laughter at the ones Ann had picked, they were all the most poofy dresses.

"Ann, you're becoming like Popuri!" She exclaimed, pointing to a bright pink dress with frills and a long skirt as proof. Ann blushed furiously and hurried to cover up the picture with her hand.

"That's not for the wedding…" She said, flushing a furious shade of red. Karen shook her head and flicked through the magazine again, trying to find at least one of the dresses that she agreed with.

"Seriously, when did you become Popuri?" Karen asked with a shocked grin and Ann shrugged and looked sheepish.

"It's just… I'm so excited about this wedding! I've been waiting for him to propose for like… two years now, and now I'm finally about to get married! I just want it all to be perfect." She admitted, tossing the magazine to the side in frustration. Karen smiled kindly and picked the magazine up again, scanning the pages quickly.

"Come on, I'll help. I think I saw one that you like that will look beautiful on you and have the plus of not making you look like the fairy godmother off Cinderella." She said, finally coming to the page she agreed with. She pointed to a beautiful white dress, with a beautiful flowing skirt and a delicately embroidered top.

"There." She said triumphantly. Ann looked it over and made a face, staring in horror at the price.

"Yeah, but look at the price tag, I cannot afford six hundred dollars, Kar." Ann told her, the beautiful sparkle fading out of her eyes, like a fire being extinguished by water.

"Ann, this is your wedding, you'll only get one, so make the most of it! Cliff loves you, he _will _buy you this dress." She said determinedly, her jade glare meeting Ann's sapphire gaze. She nodded and ripped out the page from the magazine with a satisfying tear.

"You're right, this dress is perfect, I'll order it tonight." Ann said with a grin. Karen felt excitement and happiness for her friend bubble up inside her like warm foam, tickling her insides gently. The only thing that could spoil her happiness was…

"Hey Karen, where have you been?" Rick demanded. Yeah that oughta about do it. She turned, scowling into Rick's beady grey eyes.

"Erm the inn, kinda like where I am now," she said sarcastically, gesturing to the building around her. Rick's face grew red and he fumed, she could almost see the steam spraying out of his ears.

"I came to the inn earlier to find you, you weren't there." He snapped. Karen smiled sweetly and kept her face as straight as possible.

"Well maybe you didn't look hard enough…" She said with a sour sweetness that made Rick's blood boil.

"But I asked Ann earlier, she said you weren't here." He pointed out. Karen looked at Ann, her eyes showing convincing shock.

"Ann, I was here all day, you can't have said that, did you say that?" Karen asked, her voice sounding genuine. Ann forced her face to remain straight and shook her head, feigning looking worried for Rick's mental health.

"No never, are you sure you heard right, Rick?" Ann asked, sounding very convincingly sympathetic.

"Wha? But… no… I…" Rick stammered, before giving up. He didn't want to sound completely crazy and his shoulders fell in defeat. Karen smiled, the whole affair thing would be easy when Rick was so easily fooled.

She frowned suddenly, an affair, she'd never believed she was the affair kind of girl, from being a young child she'd always believed she'd fall in love, get married, then live the life with a white picket fence. But after Jack died, her ideals started to change, she realized it wasn't a perfect world that she lived in, not the fairytale world where love always prevails, but a world where you fight for what scraps of love you can get. So here she was, hurting Rick more than she could have ever imagined hurting anyone and loving every minute of it. Now she was disgusted with herself, but she hadn't felt pure since she'd married Rick.

"Well I'll buy a drink then…" Rick said impatiently, snapping Karen from her daze immediately. "Honey, do you want something?"

"No… thank you," she replied meekly. His eyes widened in surprise at her weakened tone, but he shrugged it off, he was used to her playing him hot and cold. He returned with a pint of golden, bubbling beer, licking the foam off in delight.

"I'm gonna go home, see you tomorrow Ann…" Karen said softly, smiling weakly at her friend and even more weakly at Rick.

"Oh, how come?" Ann asked casually, pouring out a glass of wine for Gotz.

"I have a headache." She said softly, placing her hand to her forehead delicately, her cool hands soothing her head slightly. Ann nodded and watched Karen leave, she looked slightly off all of a sudden.

She was walking across the darkened streets of Mineral town, wondering how it had got so dark all of a sudden. The pale streetlamps dimly lit the shadowed street, causing a pale ghostly light to emit across them. Karen kept her arms folded, biting her lip in thought as she walked down the path, her footsteps sounding a rhythmic beat across the bricks. Suddenly she collided with something hard and struggled to keep her balance, swaying forwards to keep from falling. She looked up with expressive eyes to see what had hit into her and found the shy girl Mary smiling slightly at her.

"Oh sorry, I didn't see you…" Karen said gently, helping Mary to her feet. She shook her head, her raven black hair shimmering with a glossy shine in the moonlight.

"No worries Karen." She said, adjusting her glasses on to her cute face quickly. "So what are you doing pacing the streets this late?"

"Oh I'm… clearing my head I guess… and what about you?" Karen asked her eyes revealing easily the confusion dancing within them.

"Me too, it's a beautiful evening for a pensive walk." Mary agreed, brushing some non-existent dust of her grey-green skirt. Karen smiled, and began to walk with Mary by her side.

"So why are you feeling pensive?" Karen asked, their steps were matching perfectly in their slow walk. Mary breathed in deeply, her small lungs filling with the mild night air.

"Gray… he's so distant lately." She admitted, her head hanging slightly lower as she said the words. Karen snorted tactlessly.

"Lately? When has he _not _been distant?" She asked. Gray had always been rather silent, deep, but not willing to reveal the depth that his azure eyes held. He always came across as cold, but shy was more the right word, an air of mystery to his silent persona.

"He hasn't ever been _this _distant before… I try to talk to him, but… it's like I don't really matter, y'know?" She said, her dark eyes glimmering with worry. Karen cocked her head, unsure whether she really knew what it was like not to matter. Not mattering was the one thing that never seemed to have happened to her. With both Rick _and _Jack she seemed to matter in excess, and that was as bad as not mattering.

"I'm sorry, I don't know how that feels. I've always mattered way too much to Rick." She said, being carefully not to mention Jack.

"Ah, well that's no good either. See, the thing that hurts most is that I know that Gray doesn't love me. We may get along wonderfully when it comes to reading books, but there isn't a… a… spark." She said, sighing. Karen felt a small twinge of guilt in her stomach, the knowledge that Gray was still in love with her making her feel sick.

"Well there's no spark with Rick either, but he tries too hard to make it. It's like your situation, he loves me, I don't love him." She said darkly. Mary looked at her quickly, taking in her newly acquired information. She pushed her glasses further onto her nose, the lenses magnifying her eyes to make them look large and sparkly.

"There have been rumors… well I guess it's pretty obvious." Mary said, it was true that she didn't sound at all surprised. She then stopped and looked at Karen very seriously, as though deciding her next words carefully.

"I know Gray's in love with you." She informed her, her voice suddenly cold and chilling, her eyes filled with jealousy. Karen opened her mouth to speak and then quickly closed it, what could she say after all?

"I never led him to believe that I felt anything for him, I never encouraged him. It's not my fault." Karen said dryly. Mary nodded and sighed.

"I guess he has the spark for you… and you… you and Jack have it." Mary said, Karen was impressed at how quickly she had assessed the situation between her and Jack. "Are you seeing each other?"

"Yeah," she replied shortly, there was no point in denying it, Mary wasn't stupid. She didn't seem shocked or disgusted with the situation at all, she simply continued walking.

"Hmm, well tell me how _that _works out for you." She said sardonically. She then turned to Karen, her cold, tar-coloured eyes suddenly seemed to have melted into tears. "What if he never loves me Karen?"

"He will, as long as he doesn't hate you, he will." She promised. She wondered that, had Rick not treated her like crap the first day of marriage, if she might have learned to love him. She had always told herself she would, but if she had, what would she have done when Jack came back?

"Thanks." Mary replied softly, fixing a smile onto her face. Karen nodded and gave Mary a quick hug.

"Mineral town really isn't the best place for true love, is it?" She laughed, giving Mary a smile.

"Tell that to Popuri and Kai and Elli and Doctor Mason." She replied bitterly. Karen smiled gently and looked forward into the dark.

"G'night Mary," she said gently and she replied with a small smile.

The next day Karen woke up to autumn outside her window, the birds were singing and the annoying buzzing of bees and various other insects was gone. She took a deep breath of air and scrambled out of bed to greet the day. She made herself breakfast and ate it quickly, her mood suddenly improved with the change of weather.

"Mornin' sweetie, you sound happy." Rick commented as he walked into the kitchen and Karen offered him a scowl. He just continued to smile, whistling a happy tune.

"So Karen, sweetie, darling, baby…" Rick said, uttering as many pet names as would come into his head.

"What?" She snapped back, silencing him before she heard another disgusting pet name uttered from his mouth.

"Well… ya see, I was wondering if I could go to the bar with the guys tonight… we're all going for a big guy party thing… so can I go?" He said in an annoying voice. Karen scowled and then shrugged, her cheerful mood disappearing.

"What am I, your mother? Go ahead. See if I care." She said with a shrug. He wasn't sure whether to be happy or not, sure she'd said he could go, but she'd also said she didn't care. So he decided instead to tell her what it was, it was a safe option.

"All the guys of Mineral town are gonna meet in the inn, probably talk about the women and get drunk, are you okay with it?" He asked again, determined to get a better reaction from her.

"What do I care what you guys do?" She said with a sigh. She pretended not to care, but a part of her was filled with curiosity, what it would be to be the fly in the wall at that party. So she glanced at Rick, decided then and there that she would be eavesdropping at that party.

"What time does it start?" She asked, still pretending to be neutral. Rick smiled at her small show of interest, it was the best he was going to get.

"At eight, I think the girls are all gonna stay at home." He notified her and Karen smiled, _"not this girl,"_ she thought.

"Okie dokie," she said with a falsely sweet smile. "I'll just stay home and read a book or something. I think I'll go for a walk now." She told him, hurrying out of the door before he could say another word.

She hurried down the street heading towards the farm, she had to find out whether Jack was going or not. She ran across the dirt path to his farm, her feet making a satisfying crunching sound as they hit. She was met with a serene picture of perfection as she entered the farm, the grass was twinkling with the morning dew and the chickens hobbling around the farm gleefully. The horse and cows munched merrily at the sweet grass and wore peaceful expressions on their long faces. But the most beautiful sight of all hit Karen's eyes as she saw Jack walking towards her. She sighed contentedly as he pulled her into his arms kissing her neck softly.

"Hey sweetie, not that I'm complaining but what's with the early morning visit?" He asked, releasing her from the warm hug. She smiled, trying to clear her fuzzy mind and remember the reason for her being there.

"Umm…" She thought, she then remembered her reason and tried to put it into a more tactful sentence. "Can we meet up tonight?" _"Yeah, that sounds good." _She thought, giving herself a mental pat on the back.

"Sorry sweetie tonight's not so good they're having a party at the inn, and I'm going." He said, kissing her sweetly on the cheek. She sighed, so he was going too, now she had to find a way to eavesdrop on the gathering.

"No problem, another night then." She said with a shrug, trying to sound a little disappointed rather than curious.

"Yeah, do you want to hang around today?" He asked with a grin. Karen gulped, knowing that he would expect her to help with farm work.

"Wow, as appealing as the whole farm work thing sounds, I'm kinda busy. I promised Ann I'd help her out with some wedding plans, so I'll see you tomorrow?" She told him, planting a tender kiss on his lips. _"Well I'll be seeing you tonight, you just won't see me." _She thought deviously.

"Sure thing, have a good day." He told her, reluctantly releasing her from the embrace. She then set off to the inn, forming a plan in her mind.

After she had explained her idea to Ann they both sat looking pensive but excited.

"We really shouldn't eavesdrop…" Ann said, always sticking to her morals. Karen snorted and grinned evilly.

"Come on Ann! Don't you wanna know what the guys talk about when we're not there? We could find out!" She said enticingly, Ann looked tempted for a moment then shook her head again.

"No Karen, it'd be wrong and… and… we wouldn't like it if they eavesdropped on us!" Ann said firmly but Karen smiled a secretive smile, she knew she could get her friend to agree. She put on a pout, green eyes shining like glossy emeralds as she looked towards the floor.

"But _we_ don't have parties like that," she protested and then in a whiny voice said, "I really wanna knoooow!" Holding out the note as long as she could, drilling into Ann's armor. Ann looked weakened and tried hard to resist the puppy dog eyes Karen was shining on her.

"Oh fine, we'll sneak into the inn and watch from the cellar, okay? You happy now?" She asked, her arms folded and a frown upon her face.

"Yeees Ann," Karen replied sweetly, before grinning an evil grin.

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So not really a cliffhanger, but there'll be another one next chapter i think. Anyway till then ciao. 


	29. Its All Fun games till some1 gets hurt

Hey guys sorry as usual for the long delay, i honestly have no valid excuse... erm... a llama ate my computer? Raise your hand if you believe me... cough... awww... :(

Well anyway, thank you for the reviews guys:

**Mike The Snowman: **Yup they really did, thanks a bunch :

**General Dragon: **Hehe... oh not long...

**Awesome Rapidash: **Messing with Rick's mind is very fun, as he's pretty gullible... to an extent.

**Libra1: **Updating... wait for it... and... now!

**Cermer:** Who indeed, and it is a very good song! Is the groomsbride not the whore gasps?

**merchiewannabe: **Yeah he does change a little... but I tried to make him seem like less of a perfect guy as the story goes on, because we all have our little imperfections and I wanted to make him seem more... real.

Okay and the last item of news is... the story is coming to a close, it greives me so that i am on the last 2 chapters now. So I was wondering... would you like me to write a sequel or not? I could be convinced...

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29. It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt

Karen and Ann sat still beside the cellar door, their breathing shallow and erratic listening to the deep vibrations of the men's voices. As far as they could tell not a lot had gone on so far, just mindless chatter about the weather and drinking of beer. Ann was slumped against the door looking bored out of her skull whilst Karen continued to listen intently.

"Karen, this is boring," Ann whined, heaving a deep sigh. Karen looked at her friend sympathetically but continued to listen. "Karen!"

"Well we can't exactly leave now, we're stuck. Come on, oooh it's getting good." She said pressing her ear against the rough oak door again. Ann's eyes widened in excitement as she bounded to join Karen in listening.

"Oh what's happening?" She asked curiously, her ears pricked to absorb the sound.

"Oh never mind, I thought Saibara asked Gray "how's Mary" but he actually said "the cows hairy". Hmm, I was wondering when Gray started to talk about grooming." Karen said, grinning as Ann's face turned pink.

As the night went on the men became steadily drunker and the girls quickly more bored, so far the guys had talked about beer, the weather and animals. Ann had begun pacing the room, like a lion pacing its cage, ready to pounce at the unsuspecting visitors.

"Why the hell did you make me come here? Karen, this is boring…" Ann complained but was immediately silenced by Karen. "What now, Gotz talking about his back hair again?"

Karen rolled her eyes and beckoned for Ann to listen at the door, she obeyed immediately. They could hear Rick and Jack talking together, sounding increasingly more angry.

"What's that farm boy, you think your chickens are better?" Rick barked, his voice sounding annoyingly superior.

"Hell yeah! They're better cared for and they all lay golden eggs."

"Yeah right, you wouldn't know how to care for chickens if the chickens were self-caring." Rick argued back. Karen could hear from their voices that they were both fuming and very drunk and she knew that this would not end well.

"Yeah well at least I would know how to care for my wife!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rick demanded, his already annoying voice turning high and squeaky, like a fork being scraped across a plate.

"You heard me! It's obvious why Karen doesn't love you, she needs a man who can take care of her." Jack said, sounding a little too knowledgeable. Karen held her breath, she knew what was coming next and she couldn't stop it.

"And that man would be?"

"Me, we're a much better couple than you ever were!" Jack shouted. Karen felt her heart sink, he'd done it, he'd gone and sang their secret like a drunken lovebird. She felt her heart thumping hard in her chest as she waited desperately for Rick's reaction. She could see Ann looking at her sympathetically as she too waited for the answer.

"Oh that's a good one farm boy, you wish! Karen loves me more!" Rick said, unable to believe what was so obviously the truth. Jack just laughed and they both seemed to be laughing together at what they each thought was true.

Karen heard a thud as both men obviously fell unconscious and she breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Ann her eyes blazing with anger, tears and panic. She bit her lips till it almost bled, the fear of Rick finding out consuming her.

"What am I going to do Ann? What will the town say? What will my parents say? Oh god, oh god, oh goddess! I'm having an affair, Ann!" She said, beginning to pace back and forth while shaking with fear.

"Firstly, calm down, Rick was drunk, he's not gonna believe what he heard, you just deny it. Secondly who's he going to believe, Jack who he hates and doesn't want to believe or you who he loves and will want to believe?" Ann said reassuringly, bringing her into her arms to stop her from pacing. Karen looked up, her eyes bright and wide with worry, she knew Rick. She knew how possessive and suspicious he was, and he would stop at nothing to ensure she was truly his.

"I dunno Ann…" She said, her pale skin growing cold with worry. Ann smiled reassuringly, shining like the sun as she did so, her golden hair adding to the warmth she brought. Karen sighed gently, trying to calm herself down, telling herself that everything would be fine. But inside she knew everything wouldn't be fine, her life didn't work that way.

The next day she woke up tangled amongst her bed sheets. Struggling like a trapped animal, she tried to free herself from her fabricated cocoon. She pulled them off and breathed heavily, cold sweat pouring down her slender body. She bit her lip, knowing that she would have to face Rick that day and find out exactly what he believed. She stepped out of bed and looked into the silvery mirror, scraping a strand of golden hair out of her face and studying her own green eyes intently. She closed them, clearing the pulsating in the back of her mind, calming her heart rate and preparing herself to face him. Stepping down the stairs she spotted him immediately, lolling on the couch like a dead creature. She knew he would have a hangover from hell and that would only increase his anger. Fearfully she surveyed the room for any signs of a weapon that might be used against her, thankfully she found none but was on her guard anyway, she couldn't be too careful.

"Hey… Rick." She said unsurely, her voice quiet so as not to anger him further. He blinked awake, his cold, grey eyes studying her face carefully. He squinted at her as though trying to remember what he had found out the previous night. She smiled sweetly, so as to feign a face of pure innocence.

"Karen, erm…" he began, thinking deeply, he knew he had something to ask her. In his hungover state being tactful was not high on his priority list, so as soon as he remembered the question he asked it straight out. "Have you been having an affair?" He sounded completely blasé which surprised her, he obviously hadn't believed Jack. But what was her line, did she say "no" and lie and so suffering greater consequences when he did eventually find out or did she tell him the truth?

"Why would you think that?" She asked coolly, good answer, it revealed nothing and didn't lie either.

"Something Jack said… last night… can't quite remember." He admitted, trying hard to sit up on the sofa and look her in the eye, he knew her eyes would give more away than her tone of voice.

"Last night, you were both drunk." She said, again dodging the question. Rick nodded, trying to remember exactly how much he'd had to drink, he'd lost count after the fifth shot of vodka and the two measures of rum. He opened his mouth as if to ask what that had to do with anything, but he stopped, realizing that he could really embarrass himself in this situation.

"Never mind, can you feed the chickens?" He asked, giving up on asking her, Jack was probably just trying to wind him up.

"Kay," she replied quickly, eager to get away from his beady, grey eyes boring into her like silvery knives. She quickly hurried out to feed the chicken family while Rick contemplated how weird it was that she hadn't refused… suspicious.

After feeding the chickens and not even bothering to lavish the love upon them that Rick usually did she hurried over to the farm. When she entered she heard the angry moos of cows and squawking of chickens and she realized that Jack probably had been too hung-over to feed them yet. She sighed deciding that since she was such a good girlfriend… was she his girlfriend...? that she would feed the animals for him. After doing her duty as girlfriend she knocked gently on his small wooden door and after hearing no answer entered. She found the entire house in disarray, he'd obviously been incredibly drunk the night before, dirty clothes lay everywhere and all the plates and dishes were dumped haphazardly on the table.

"Jack?" She whispered, tiptoeing closer to the bed in which he was passed out on. She would have loved to have thought he looked like an angel when he slept, but it was hard to think when he looked so bedraggled. His hair was ruffled and looked like a brown birds nest and a trail of drool leaked from his mouth as he slept. He snored slightly, sounding like a purring tiger and he had a slight frown upon his relaxed features. Karen glanced at the clock and registered that it was past noon, deciding that it was obviously time to wake him up.

"JACK, WAKE UP." She shouted, shaking his shoulder roughly as she did so.

"Nooo, don't hurt me giant toilet of doom!" Jack yelped as he woke up. His sleep-filled eyes then did a quick search of the room before he completely relaxed.

"Morning, sleepy head." She smirked as she ran her hand lovingly through his tousled hair. He looked at her and his eyes lit up immediately, shining golden radiance upon her. He grinned and rubbed his eyes slightly, doing a catlike stretch on the ruffled bed sheets.

"You know," he told her, "there are much nicer ways to wake a fella up."

"Yeah, I know. But this one seemed more fun." She admitted sweetly, placing a soft kiss on his cheek. He glanced at the clock by his bed and groaned slightly, the bright sunlight only just registering with his tired eyes. He had only just begun to feel his hangover headache too.

"Damn, I guess my animals hate me."

"Nope fed 'em," Karen told him proudly. He cocked his head at her in surprise and then smiled broadly.

"Wow, aren't you the best girlfriend in the world. Remind me to buy you something pretty later."

"Will do." She told him, knowing that the promise pretty things was something she wouldn't forget.

"Right… well I'll have a shower then." He told her, planting a kiss on her cheek before heading into the bathroom. Karen listened for the shower to turn on before heading to the kitchen and taking out a clean frying pan. She knew that if she had told him she was cooking him breakfast he would have begged her not to, but what he didn't know couldn't hurt him… yet.

When Jack returned from the shower he found his house spick and span and a "delicious" breakfast laid out for him on the table. Karen was standing in an apron in front of the table with her hands behind her back, beaming.

"You took so long to shower that I decided to prepare this for you." She told him, gesturing to the breakfast. "Besides, you need to get some food into your system, I'm guessing from the sounds I heard that you've already emptied your stomach." Jack tried not to look too embarrassed that Karen had heard him throw up, but he couldn't help his face glowing red. Karen had managed to ignore most of the sounds by cooking the sausages and listening to them fry, but some had been unavoidable.

"Well thanks, remind me to buy you two pretty things." Jack told her, sitting down at the table and starting on the food while Karen watched his every reaction carefully.

"Good?" she asked and Jack nodded. "I'm glad you like it. I was wondering if you'd like to go to the hot springs today, it should be pretty empty after the party last night."

"Or really full because everyone will be trying to get rid of their headache." Jack pointed out but Karen shook her head.

"Nope, usually after a night of drinking everyone in Mineral town likes to sit at home and rest, so the women will take care of their husbands. So the hot springs should be empty, it'd be nice to get in some… quality time." She said raising her eyebrows seductively. Jack swallowed his sausage quickly and looked at her wide eyed.

"Sure, erm… quality time sounds great." He said enthusiastically.

So after breakfast the two headed through the silent town to the hot springs. The sounds of birds could be heard twittering about but other than that the area was completely silent. She grinned at Jack before slipping into the hut in front of the springs to change. She then submerged herself into the hot springs and smiled seductively at Jack who hastened to dive in with her. She quickly paddled over to him and kissed him deeply, running her hand down his back.

"See, told you this would be fun."

"Did I say it wouldn't be?" Jack asked, kissing her gently. He wrapped his arms around her and then pulled her under the water, leaving her breathless. When they reemerged from the water Karen's eyes widened as she spotted Rick. She hurriedly shoved Jack under the water and smiled casually.

"Hey Rick… er what are you doing here?" She asked, watching out of the corner of her eye as Jack swam to the door of the changing hut.

"I came to relax by the hot springs… who are you with?" Rick asked suspiciously, peering into the water. Karen's eyes widened, hoping that he hadn't seen Jack.

"No… no one." She said quickly, acting surprised at Rick's suspicion. His eyebrows shot up.

"Oh my god is that one of the chickens?" Karen said suddenly, pointing in a random direction. Rick looked in the direction she pointed, eyes wide to search for any chickens. While he was looking Jack quickly slipped into the changing hut.

"Ooops, it was a squirrel… never mind." She said innocently. Rick frowned but then shook his head and smiled.

"Oh never mind, so are you coming home now? Or are you going to stay here for a while?" He asked calmly. Karen couldn't believe her luck, Rick was so blind he hadn't noticed anything. She breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"I think I'll go for a walk up Mother's hill actually, seems like a nice day for it." She told him with a smile. He shrugged and nodded, before turning on his heel and headed home.

Jack returned from the changing hut and they both burst out laughing.

"That was too close for comfort!" She laughed, pretending to wipe sweat from her brow.

"I'll say! We really need to be more careful." He warned her and she nodded.

"Want to go back to your place?" She asked with a playful grin. He swallowed hard and nodded quickly.

Rick stormed home, anger radiating off him. He was absolutely fuming. Did she really think that she could fool him? Did she think that he was _that _blind, _that _stupid? Well he'd show her, he'd show her who was stupid once and for all!

"Rick dear, are you okay?" Lillia asked weakly from the doorway. Her mother's intuition was kicking in.

"I'm fine mother, what are you doing here?" Rick asked, his teeth gritted tightly together.

"Oh nothing, I just came over to bring you some pie Popuri made." She said beaming. Rick managed to smile back and took the pie off his sweet mother. "Oh and how is Karen?"

"She's fine." He answered coldly. Lillia blinked and frowned, the couple were obviously going through another rough patch.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked in concern, but Rick shook his head quickly, a bitter smirk on his face.

"No mom, its okay. I'm dealing with it."

Karen looked out of the window, the sky was growing increasingly darker and she was sure Rick would be beginning to get suspicious. She looked back at Jack who was focusing intently on the T.V as they watched some old western movie. Suddenly there was a gunshot and she jumped.

"Jack, I really have to go home." She sighed, reluctantly standing up off the couch. He looked at her with innocent, puppy dog eyes willing her desperately to stay. She smiled and gave in, picking up her coat.

"Fine I'll go home and tell him that I'm going to be late." She said before stepping out into the cool air. The stars were glittering gently in the sky and the night was silent.

When she arrived at the door Rick was gazing idly at the chicken coop. She frowned and tapped him gently on the shoulder, he flinched slightly.

"Hey Rick, I was thinking of going to the inn to meet Ann. That's okay, right?" She asked softly, her voice kept perfectly casual. Rick turned around and beamed at her, making a smile twitch onto her lips, he was obviously in a good mood.

"Sure thing, Honey! But could you do me a favour? See I have a problem with one of our chickens, and I was wondering if Jack could give me a bit of advice..."

"You want Jack to give you advice?" She asked in surprise. She was unsure of what to make of this display of happiness, as far as she was concerned he hated Jack.

"Well you know usually I'm not most fond of him," he admitted with a sheepish smile formed with his skinny lips. "But, I need some advice farmer to farmer, so if you could get him here I'd appreciate it."

Karen frowned again, this was a little odd, but if Rick needed help she was sure he'd stoop really low to get it. So she shrugged it off and smiled.

"Sure I'll go get him." She said heading out of the farm.

"Thanks baby. Oh and tell him I'll meet him inside, you can go off to the inn once you've told him, okay?"

She frowned slightly again, she guessed she'd have to wait for Jack at the farm while he dealt with Rick.

After she'd told him what Rick had asked they both headed towards the farm, deciding that Karen would wait outside for him, just in case Rick was acting too weird. After all, she could just walk in and pretend that she needed something. They arrived outside the fence and she flashed him a reassuring smile. It was really dark and she strained to see him through the black stained night.

"It's odd, there aren't any lights on in the house." She said softly, she then sighed. "I think the bulbs gone, Rick'll probably make you change it. So that's his game..."

"Ah well, I'll just change the bulb then I'll be back."

Rick waited in the shadows, his heart pounding hard in his chest. He clutched the cold metal gun in his sweaty palms, breathing heavily. He'd turned the light off a few minutes before, after all if he saw Jack face before he shot him... well that might take away his will. He swallowed again, running through the plan in his head. Take the gun, shoot the guy – well that would be difficult in the dark, but he could still see shadowy shapes, so he assumed he could just aim for the shadow. Then what did he do after that? Everyone in the town would hear the shot and Karen would know that he had summoned Jack there.

He could deny it. He would deny it. How would he explain why he shot the farmer that he had ruined his life? The reason seemed good in his head, but would it seem sound in the minds of the townspeople. Well then he could claim Jack attacked him, after all Rick had married the girl Jack was in love with. Even if that girl was now having an affair with the farmer. He had to make Jack pay for what he'd done and that bitch would pay too. So now he was ready, he placed his finger over the cold metal trigger and took a deep breath he could hear footsteps. This was it, he was completely ready. The door swung open and he spotted the farmer's shadowy figure. He aimed and pulled the trigger.

BANG.

"NO!" Karen screamed, hearing the gun shot ring out soundly into the silent, dark night.


	30. Are You Mad?

Well folks, this is the second to last chapter, in other words JUST ONE MORE CHAPTER! Oh my, I'm on the verge of tears... nah it's been fun, I just hope you've enjoyed reading as much as I have writing! This is pretty much the conclusion of all the plot events, the last chapter's just corny .

So anyway, almost the final review answering time!

**Mike The Snowman: Glad I got the ticker ticking !**

**Shippostail: I just love doing cliffhangers! Granted they're annoying to read...**

**GeneralDragon: Well let's hope I won't disappoint!**

**Awesome Rapidash: Hehe, I stand guilty with the stewing, forgive me?**

**Libra1: Yeah, sorry for the long delay, but here it is.**

**Cermer: Yeah in the music way i'd say so, love Blink 182 and from what i've heard of Angels and Airwaves and Taking Back Sunday i've liked - I just need to get round to buying albums and such.**

**DoubleKK: Once again you're probably making up better plotlines than I have, but this is the alternative.**

So anyway, here's the conclusion.

* * *

30. Are you mad?

Karen screamed, her whole body going rigid, her breathing shallow. "_Oh god, oh god, oh god." _Her mind was screaming at her. Rick had shot him, she couldn't lose Jack again, she'd get to him this time. She ran to the door and swung it open, flicking the light switch in hope that it would work, she was glad when it did. She looked at the ground wide eyed and spotted the bloody corpse on the ground. She was filled with shock and disbelief. She then felt gently arms around her that she melted into.

"Oh my god Rick, what did you do?" She heard Jack asked behind her. She turned with tear-filled eyes to look at the man she loved holding her. She was filled with a sense of relief.

"W...wha... what?" She managed, relieved yet shocked to see Jack still alive. She looked down at the corpse, too broad to be Jack's body. Rick fell to his knees before the body, dropping his gun down next to him, his skin flushed as pale as the corpses. He took shallow, gasping breaths as he looked at the body.

"Who is it?" She asked no one in particular. The body had long, straggly brown hair, the wide open eyes were deep brown, shocking next to the horrified expression on its face. It was obviously a man, broad and tall and he had probably been tanned and well-muscled in life. He was lying face down and had a bloody red bullet hole in his back.

"D...daddy?" Rick murmured weakly, crawling towards the corpse and hugging it, the rich blood seeping into his clothes.

"Rick... everyone in mineral town has to have heard that shot, they'll be here soon." Karen whispered, her eyes wide in fear. "So tell me some things."

Rick looked at her, his eyes big and frightened, he then nodded slowly.

"Is this... this man... is he... was he your father?" She asked and Rick provided a nod. "Right... where did you get the gun Rick?"

He turned silent, gulping hard and looked from her piercing green eyes to the gun.

"Where did you get the gun Rick?" She repeated firmly, her voice hard and fierce. Rick's body began to shake violently as he looked frantically around the room.

"I... when Jack came back... I bought a gun... I imported it from America." He said weakly. Karen's jaw dropped as her mind flashed back to a month or so ago.

"_Hey Rick!" Karen exclaimed happily, she'd just arrived from seeing Jack. He was holding a small brown box, gazing at it unsurely. She walked over to him and looked at the box._

"_What's in the box Rick... Rick?" She asked again after he stood in silence. He looked at her, obviously attempting to look calm._

"_Something I ordered for the chickens." He said quickly. She shrugged at the strange behaviour._

"_Whatever, I'm off to the inn."_

"That box." She gasped, her whole body numb. "In that box was a gun, you bought it to shoot Jack."

Rick nodded guiltily, he then stared at her with wild eyes. "You have to help me get away... before they come and find me."

"No Rick." She said, her voice hard, calm and deadly serious. "You're going to stay here. You're going to explain yourself to the entire town. You're going to apologise to your family and then you're going to suffer the consequences of your actions."

"Karen I can't, please, they'll send me away." He pleaded, his body quivering and she swallowed. Somehow, even after everything she wanted to help him. But she couldn't now, not after he'd done this, not after he'd killed a man.

"Help me." He whispered.

"I can't Rick, not now. You've killed a man, you have blood on your hands, you deserve what you get." She said harshly, sounding heartless. Jack meanwhile just stood there, his eyes fixed on the scene in front of him, staring in disbelief.

"That... that would have been me." He murmured weakly, looking at the lifeless corpse.

"It should have been you." Rick spat. "But I killed my daddy!"

"Why you..." Jack began, edging closer to Rick with his fists out. But Karen stopped him quickly by placing a firm hand on his chest.

"Think how it'd look with Rick covered in blood and his dad dead on the floor? Who would they blame?" She asked him, he bowed his head in realisation. "Exactly. Go and find Harris, alert as much of the town as you can, okay? Be quick."

Jack swallowed hard, he looked for a second like he was going to stay. But eventually he sighed and rushed off into the night to do her bidding. Karen then fixed her green gaze on Rick, he shrank back away from her fury.

"You knew." She said simply and he nodded. "Revenge?" He nodded again. She sighed and paced the room a second.

"Karen, I really don't need a talk from you right now." Rick whined, his eyes filled with silvery tears. "I just... I killed my dad."

Karen looked down at the corpse, memories flooding into her mind of this man. She had been close to him too, and she felt loss and unbearable pain. But she had to keep it together, for Lillia and Popuri. Because once she started crying she knew the tears wouldn't stop, and she had to stay strong.

"How long have you been planning to kill Jack?" She asked, her voice cold and calm, like a winter's day.

"I only decided to do it today, when I found you two together at the hot springs!" He yelled. Karen nodded slowly, she had suspected he'd known.

"But you bought the gun before?"

"Just... just in case. I wasn't planning to use it!" He said nervously, his hands were fidgeting over his father's shirt.

"Then why?" Karen asked, a few tears forming in her eyes. She felt betrayed and heartbroken, she had to wonder: would he have used the gun on her?

As though reading her mind Rick spoke, "I would never have used it on you."

"No? Then why did you threaten me with a knife before?" She asked angrily.

"I was drunk Karen! This is... this is different. This was a matter of pride. I don't have to explain myself to you..."

The look she gave him was dangerous as he gulped again.

"Well, you betrayed me Karen and I thought that if... if he was gone for good things would be okay. I don't know how I was going to get away with it, but I wanted him dead. I knew things would never be good between us, I knew you'd never forgive me. But if I can't have you, no one can!" He shouted, grabbing the gun quickly and lifting it to her head.

Karen didn't even flinch, she just looked at him calmly, her eyes flashing dangerously. She wet her dry lips and continued to gaze at him, watching his hand shaking with the gun.

"Can you do it, Rick? Can you kill me?" She asked coolly, she sounded hurt, yet she remained composed.

"If I can't have you, no... no one can." He repeated, clutching the gun more firmly in his hand and placing his finger on the trigger.

"Can you take another life? How's it going to look you standing over the bodies of two people you loved? One is unforgivable enough, but two...? Could you do that to your family?" She asked, and he began to shake more violently.

"I'll do it." He threatened, biting his lips so hard that blood was beginning to trickle.

"Okay then, but if you're going to do it, I'd do it quick. Because how do you think it's going to look to everyone, you pointing a gun at my head. It's as bad as the body." Karen waited for a second, her eyes almost willing him to pull the trigger. "You can't do it, can you?"

Rick shook his head and dropped the gun.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He cried, collapsing onto the ground and wrapping his arms around himself. He looked so wretched that she wanted to go over and comfort him, to hug him and make it better, regardless of what he'd done.

"I'm sorry Rick." She whispered and he looked up at her with pain-filled eyes. For a while he just gazed at her vacantly, but he looked like something had just dawned on him.

"But it's not your fault Karen. I'm going to stop blaming you and blame myself, you've never been the one to blame. I'm just sorry I let you go, you gave me a second chance and I... I more than blew it." He said softly.

"This isn't really the time for revelations Rick." Karen told him, glancing at the door and wondering where Jack was.

"No, but I think this is all the time we've got. So I just want to say some things. I love you, I always have, I just... I don't know why I didn't treat you better. Guess I'm just a jerk. But none of this was your fault, I don't blame you for your affair with Jack. So I just want to say I'm sorry. I'm going to own up, so I guess this is goodbye." He said with a weak smile. He stood up awkwardly and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"I wish..." She began, wondering what in fact she did wish. Rick didn't even looked at her now, he sat back down next to his father and cried into his shirt.

Then the townspeople burst in, Jack first followed by Popuri and Lillia. They both saw the body and stood dumbstruck. Popuri's bottom lip began to shake as she looked from Rick to the body.

"Daddy!" She cried, running over to the body and hugging him tightly. The man she had been longing to see for so many years now lay before her, dead. Karen's heart broke for her right then, feeling her best friend's pain.

"Daddy, wake up please. Rick, Rick, tell me he's not dead. Tell them... tell them you didn't..." She pleaded her older brother who just looked at her sadly.

He then stood up, his legs wobbling slightly beneath him.

"I... I did this." He looked at Karen for support but she looked away and he sighed. "And I'm going to tell the truth for once. Jack and Karen, call me out if I'm wrong."

"You're already wrong." Jack said, his voice filled with hate. Rick nodded and then began to recount the story, whether or not everyone wanted to hear it.

"So I did it... mom... sorry. Poe... sorry." He said, his eyes full of tears, his voice turning hoarse.

"I think we've heard enough. Now the town has to decide what to do with you." Harris told him. The stout policeman with an overly large nose took out his shiny handcuffs that had never before been used and clicked them onto Rick's wrists.

"Errr, where shall we put him?" Harris asked the Mayor, who shrugged. Duke then volunteered to lock him into part of the wine cellar, which was used for the storage of empty wine barrels.

Lillia stood over the body of her fallen husband, crying uncontrollably. Her fragile body was wracked with loud sobs.

"She won't live long after this shock." The doctor said shaking his head sadly. "There goes her chance to be cured."

He then walked over to the body to check it over, he looked at the wounds and wrote it down on the clipboard. He then reached into the pocket and pulled out a beautiful flower, with golden petals and a silver stem.

"This... this is the cure." He marvelled, a small smile on his face despite the circumstances. "I must get to this at once! Can someone take the body to the clinic?"

"Yeah, I'll do it." Gotz said gruffly, edging closer. Lillia was sitting over the body still, her hand hovering over his face.

"He's so cold." She said weakly, her eyes seemed blank and distant.

"Come away Lillia." Gotz said, putting a hand gently on her shoulder.

"B... but..." She stammered, she began to shiver as she looked down at her hand that was covered in blood. Her husband looked so perfect, his expression peaceful, like he was simply sleeping. It was almost as though he was alive, but the bullet hole in his chest destroyed the illusion.

"Mama, how could he?" Popuri murmured from behind, only Kai's arms around her supporting her. Popuri felt so torn, her brother had killed her father. She felt like she should condemn her brother and defend him at the same time.

Karen sat watching the scene from a chair in the living room. Most of the town had somehow managed to fit into the room, to gaze sadly upon the fallen giant. So many had awaited his arrival, the men had planned to watch football games with him, the women had planned to invite him over for tea and have him tell them all his adventures. All their plans, however, had shattered with the bullet of a gun.

An eerie silence ascended the room, all the faces were pale and frozen in the same way. It was like a mime act, without even movement, like statues in a graveyard. All the couples clung to each other desperately, seeking what comfort they could, while Lillia mourned for the comfort she would never again have. It was as though time had stopped, but yet they couldn't turn it back.

* * *

Later the body was carried off and eventually most people filed out of the house. Elli was the first to leave, saying how she had to take care of the baby and tell Stu something, maybe even the truth. Next Barley left, to take care of May. Soon the room was almost empty, except for Lillia, Popuri, Kai, Karen and Jack. Karen was sitting on a stool near the kitchen, whilst Popuri slumped against the counter, Lillia sat on the couch and Jack sat on an armchair. Everyone's eyes were swollen from tears and were focused on the blood stain on the carpet. Karen sighed, the blood wasn't coming out any time soon. 

"I want to get out of here." Karen whispered softly, before another long silence followed.

"Yeah, me too." Jack agreed eventually. "You want to stay at mine tonight?"

"Yeah." She replied softly. They both stood up slowly and then walked to the door, taking one last look at the red patch, the corpse had long since been removed.

That night Karen sat opposite Jack on the bed, both of them unable to sleep. They were gazing silently at the bedcovers, each lost in their own thoughts.

"What would you have done?" Jack asked softly.

"Huh?"

"Had I died? Is my old gravestone still up, I haven't checked." He asked and Karen shrugged.

"I wouldn't have been in charge of what happened to your body." She told him, continuing to stare at the bed.

"Why not?"

"Because," she said looking up seriously. "I would have been dead. I couldn't have handled you dying again. So I would have taken the gun and..."

"Oh." He said quietly. "Kinda like Romeo and Juliet." He would have been shocked at her words, but he understood, he would do the same for her.

"Except with a crazy chicken boy... what do you think will happen to him?" She asked, gazing into his earthy brown eyes.

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow." He said with a sigh. "How do you think Lillia and Popuri will be?"

"As well as can be expected, they hadn't seen him in a long time... I think... I think a part of them already thought he was dead. I guess they thought they'd never see the body." She said softly, remembering how Rick had told her he thought his dad was dead.

"Yeah I guess. You want to go to sleep?"

"No." She replied, settling down into the bed next to him and closing her eyes. He gazed at her for a moment and watched as her breathing eased and a peaceful expression graced her face.

"Goodnight, I love you." He whispered, before turning the light off.

* * *

The next morning was the trial and as Rick was marched into the room everyone could see the remorse written on his face. His eyes were bloodshot and he had obviously not been able to sleep. Lillia and Popuri looked sadly at him, unable to hate him. The Mayor stood up and cleared his throat to command silence unnecessarily, the room was already silent as the grave. 

"Right, today we're here to decide a suitable punishment for Rick, his crime: murder. So what do we want to do with him?" The Mayor asked, glaring at Rick.

"Well actually, we had to call the police. Apparently now it's up to the law overseas to decide what we do with him." Harris said shaking his head.

"What, but that's preposterous, no one from this town will be sent overseas." The Mayor objected, although he didn't particularly like Rick at that moment in time, he wasn't about to hand over one of his own to the authorities.

"Sorry, but they're coming to pick him up this afternoon." Harris said with an apologetic shrug.

"But we can't all go to America to see the trial!" Lillia protested, she had only just started taking the medication and it was only just starting to take effect.

"I told them that, but they said they would film the trial and none of us are to go. We will see the verdict then." Harris said dutifully, there was then an uproar, a contrast to the silence of earlier.

"That's enough!" The Mayor shouted, commanding attention. "We will just have to fight them on it."

"Don't." A small voice said from the corner. Rick was looking at them pleadingly, his eyes wide and worried. "I committed the crime, I'll do the time. This goes beyond Mineral town now, I took a life. So let me go and pay for it, I'll go."

"But..." Lillia protested, looking at her son with fear.

"Please mom, just let me go. Will you let me go? I'm not worth it." He said crying softly. Another silence spread across the room and Mayor Thomas nodded.

The meeting was called to an end and everyone filed out, putting their anger aside to say goodbye to Rick.

"Do you mind that you won't be there for the funeral?" Karen asked him as she was about to leave.

"No. I don't feel I have a right to be there. Kar?" Rick asked weakly, he looked at her like a child, lost and afraid.

"Yes Rick?" She asked softly.

He looked for a moment as though he would beg her not to let them take him, but he swallowed hard. "Take care of Poe and mom for me, okay? You're their family now. Whether or not we're still married by the end of this, and I'll do anything you want to set you free, you're their family."

"I know. I always have been." She told him with a smile. "And no matter what, you'll always be in my family."

Rick nodded and she hugged him once goodbye.

"Goodbye Karen." He said, both sadly and firmly and she smiled sadly. As much as she knew she should be angry with him, she couldn't be. Some part of her knew it wasn't his fault, she'd driven him to it. In a way so had his father, with the absence of a father figure and being forced to take care of his sick mother and little sister he had slowly been driven insane. A part of Karen wondered, had he seen that the shadow was his father before he shot him, would he have done it anyway?

* * *

A season past in Mineral town and with the beginning of a new season came the news of Rick's trial, they had buried Mr. Iris' body but still been unable to have the ceremony. Without knowing what was to become of Rick they were still unable to say goodbye to his father. As the town sat around the small T.V in the inn, nervously awaiting the verdict, Karen looked around. She had a sense that this was her family, not just the parents that hadn't ever cared the right amount, but everyone. From the annoying gossip, Manna to the little baby cradled in Elli's arms, they were family. They were all watching the verdict of a family member who'd killed another member of their family, and they felt the same things, whether they were blood or not. 

They watched the look of fear on Rick's face as he stood trial alone, having a long time in a cell alone. Yet the look on his face told nothing of his loneliness, it said that his family was with him, at least in some way. But the verdict was clear, having had a few appointments with a psychiatrist Rick had been proved mentally ill. He was to be transferred to "Lucky Star" home for the mentally insane, where he would be kept indefinitely.

"Why indefinitely Mama?" Popuri asked her mother, her eyes filled with tears. Everyone was wondering the same thing, they knew Rick was not sound of mind, but an appointment with a shrink should have been sufficed.

"Because he couldn't come back." Karen said softly and everyone turned to look at her.

"Why not, we would have welcomed him back regardless? He would have done his time." Lillia said, her eyes too filled with tears.

"Because after completing his sentence of say 10 years, he would never be the same. And coming back to Mineral town after that, he would never recover, he would ruin some of our lives. So he died for us, he's not coming back, so he's dead to us and that's it. I think he had something to do with this..." Karen said, she then paused, remembering how final his last words had sounded. "Rick's gone."

Lillia and Popuri choked into tears while his family, everyone in Mineral town mourned his loss. They knew what Karen had said was true, Rick had left them to get on with their lives, to forget. He had sacrificed himself so that they could bury the memories along with him.

The funeral for Mr. Iris was not only a funeral for Rick's father, it was also for Rick. They doubted that they'd ever even receive the young Iris' body, he would sever all ties with them. So, on the gravestone was inscribed only:

_Here lies Mr. R Iris, he was something to everybody. His entire family misses him, all twenty something of us. May he find some peace._

It was dedicated to both Mr. Rod Iris and Rick and on that day they buried both of them. As they cried over the gravestone, everyone knew that although they could forgive, they could never forget either of them.

Karen stood over the grave, calmly taking in the smooth stone and the engraving.

"Sorry Rick and thank you. You may think we're better off without you, but we're not, I'm not. Your family will always love you, both of you." She whispered, placing a small white flower onto the gravestone.

"You know we don't blame you right Jack." Lillia told her honorary son as they stood by the grave.

"I know. Thank you Lillia, take care." Jack smiled as he hugged her and planted a kiss on her head.

"Well I guess that's it." Jack said as they walked away from the church. He was holding a letter that had arrived that morning. The letter informed them that Karen and Rick's marriage had ended, they were to be divorced, Karen was once again free to marry whoever.

"What's it like being single?" Jack asked with a chuckle.

"Pah! Single, as if you'll ever leave me alone." She joked.

"Hey you're the one soon to be Mrs. Ball and chain." He replied with a big grin. She frowned and hit him gently on the arm.

"Who says?"

"I do." He said with a smile. Karen gave him a dangerous look.

"You propose now and yours will be the next name on the gravestone." She said playfully.

"Too late!" He told her pointing to his gravestone challengingly.

"True."

"So, what do you want to do now it's all finally over?" Jack asked wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"Over? You make it sound so final." She said bitterly.

"Well I'm pretty sure we're through the dark tunnel. Isn't it over?" He asked innocently. Karen chuckled and looked deeply into his eyes.

"No sweetie, it's never over." She told him, before planting a quick kiss on his lips and running towards the farm, Jack following close behind her.

* * *

Once again I say, **one more chapter** but that's pretty much the end of the story line, hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. Still debating sequal... perhaps even prequal (how would that work:S). So if you want one tell me, otherwise the end is almost nigh... 


	31. The Truth About Life

Well here it is, the final chapter... I promised myself I wouldn't cry... It's kinda short, but it's pretty much just a corny summary. Yes I have decided to give it a happy ending, but if you want me to continue we'll see how tragic I can make it. But for now this is it, and even if I do continue it probably won't be for a while, I have a lot of other fanfics planned. Three of them Harvest Moon ones, which at some point I'll get round to writing.

So for the last time I'm gonna write my review replies, oh gosh this is gonna make me cry!

**Shippostail: Thank you, and have a tissue !**

**Mike The Snowman: Yup karma definitely comes into play here and yeah I think I will probably do a sequal, but not for a while as I've said above.**

**chicco357: Thanks, this is really just proof that I have too much time on my hands.**

**rosebabykiss: Matty is in this chapter, promise and wow thank you. I'm glad that I managed to bring up some emotions, makes me feel I've succeeded as a writer. Thanks for all the compliments, I'm sure I'm undeserving of them, but thank you and thanks for reading. It's really nice to know your work is appreciated .**

**DoubleKK: Lol... yes isn't that a coincidence... but anyway thank you for being such a loyal reviewer, they were all really appreciated and you gave me the courage to keep writing. **

**GeneralDragon: Yes I too am sad to see it end, and the sequal does look promising, I guess I'll get writing. Thank you.**

**Lazy Kingdom Keyblade: No it's not wrong that you hate Karen, admittedly alot of the tragedies are her fault. But she is in an unfortunate position. You're right they are pretty much all villains!**

**J.C.: No Karen really isn't the heroine, is she? I was kinda aiming for Jack to be a hero, but he really didn't come out as one. I guess there are no hero's in this story, but such is life... or just this story... but anyway, I've gotta admit this ending ended up far too sugar-coated, but the sequal is supposed to be tragic. There's a clue. But for this story, there is a happy ending.**

**Awesome Rapidash: Yup am definitely thinking about sequal, but as I've said, I'll probably work on other thing first... Harvest Moon, of course!**

**honeybee26: Wow thank you very much, you're making me blush... heehee. The fling could be amusing, but considering Carter's a priest and I don't know how old he is... could be odd, but it's an idea! Nice idea about the retellings, I'll consider it. I hope my other stories please you, I'll work hard!**

**Kayla: I guess it could be an imagination killer, but I did promise another chapter, so... here it is. Good idea about Matty, I do love that guy !**

So here's the final part of the story.

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31. The truth about life

A few months later Jack finally proposed, with a blue feather and a beautiful engagement ring. He had filled the entire inn with candles (a bit of a fire hazard) and had gone down on one knee. Karen had felt her heart skip, like you should really feel when someone proposes; and then Jack said the words.

"Karen..."

"Yes Jack?"

"Will you..." He took a deep breath. "Feed the chickens tomorrow?"

"WHAT!" Karen shouted, ready to slap him into the next century.

"Fine I'm joking! Will you marry me, and be with me till the day I die... again." Jack asked with a playful grin, but his eyes were filled with sincerity, dancing in the candlelight.

"I dunno... I mean you kinda ruined the mood with the whole feeding the chickens thing." She said with mock uncertainty.

"Yeah, but you're gonna say yes."

"What makes you so sure?" She challenged, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Because you're an angel, who could never do that to me." He said hopefully.

"Hmmm... that still doesn't seem like a good enough reason."

"Because you said yes to Rick." He joked and her eyes widened with both embarrassment and anger.

"Fine, I'll marry you." She said with a smile. He grinned and stood up to twirl her around.

"Yay! I'm the happiest man alive!" He shouted loudly. "Except maybe Santa Clause." He said as an afterthought.

"Hmm, that is hard to beat." She smiled, planting a big kiss on his lips. He smiled as he returned the kiss.

A month later they were at the chapel, ready to become Mr. and Mrs. Hunter. Karen stood in a new, beautiful white wedding dress outside the church waiting eagerly to enter. It was spring again, another spring wedding, but this time it seemed appropriate. Jack was like the spring time flowers, he had been reborn again to her. The pink blossom floated across the wind and brushed past her face, her golden hair flying up to meet the tiny petals. She sucked in the delicious, crisp air and then strode into the church.

Carter stood in front of the alter, grinning broadly and Jack stood in front, his grin even wider. Karen bit her lip and walked slowly towards him, her hair shimmering like a goddess'.

"Morning honey, you're a little late." Jack told her, tapping his foot as she approached.

"Maybe you're a little early."

"No, you're late."

"I wanted to be fashionably late." She said softly.

"Speaking of fashion, we have a special guest, says he knows you." Jack said with a secretive smile. She surveyed the guests, following his gaze and spotted Matty amongst them. She gasped, her eyes filling with tears. She was about to run over to greet him but Carter cleared his throat.

"Let's begin the ceremony."

After the long ceremony they had the after party, where Karen ran into Matty's arms.

"Should I worry?" Jack asked Matty, not looking even remotely worried.

"No." Karen informed him with a smile. "But maybe I should."

"Nah, I have a partner back in the states. I would have brought him, but he was busy." Matty said sweetly.

"Awww, my little Matty's growing up!" Karen crooned, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, this day is perfect now you're here."

"I'm glad to see you found happiness, and I have to tell you I approve of your miracle man. He told me the story."

"Yeah, it's some tale." She said with a wink. Matty chuckled and kissed her on the top of her head. Then Ann and Popuri ran over to her, encasing her in a hug.

"Now we're all married!" Popuri exclaimed happily. Ann and Cliff had eloped a little while before and now Ann was pregnant.

"I guess we've all grown up." Matty pointed out and they all grinned. They had all finally found perfect contentment. Karen knew Matty would have to leave again that day, but just to see him and know he was happy was enough. Jack's parents walked over to greet them and tell them both how beautiful they looked, although Jack protested he was handsome, not beautiful.

"So you two will soon become the proud owners of our estate in America, are you going to live there?" Mrs. Hunter asked curiously.

"No, we decided we're gonna stay here, with the rest of our family." Jack said, looking at the guests.

"And may you find much happiness." Mr. Hunter said.

"You know what. I think we already have." She replied with a smile.

A week or so later Karen was standing outside the church once again, this time to visit a grave. She stood in front of the grave and placed a moondrop flower onto the dry earth.

"Hey you. I came to say hi, because I know I haven't in a while. I wanted to tell you, I'm happy now. You always told me, happiness is a precious thing, well I found it and you were right. I think I found it, I found my happy ending." She told her grandmother's grave. Eve Bordeaux had been a wise, beautiful woman and her death had come as a shock to everyone. She had been so healthy, so vibrant. She had always seemed like the happiest woman alive, but Karen knew that wasn't true, her grandmother had always told her that happiness was rarely, if ever, found.

"You once told me, the only truth in life... the only truth was that you died. Well I'm not even sure if that's a truth anymore, it sure was for you. But you know what a think the truth about life is... because I'm sure there must be a single truth, if not many. Life's a winding path and I've had a few bumps along the way, but I think now I know. The truth is life's a gift that never, ever should be wasted. And I think... I think you knew that, but you wanted me to work it out for myself."

Karen smiled, feeling her eyes fill slightly with tears. She turned to leave the grave and then stopped suddenly, turning around to face the grey slab again.

"Thanks." She whispered and headed off down the straight path home, where she had finally found happiness. But how long could that happiness last...?

**THE END**

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Oooh, that was horribly corny! Now it's just time for the basic thankyous and goodbyes etc. etc. 

So first I want to thank all the readers and all of the reviewers, all of you have been great.

So I think I'll name all of my reviewers (in order of reviewing), I owe you a lot of credit:

**DoubleKK, kelley28, SilentWind,Jen the Idiot, J.C, rainbowkid, silverstar, Kumiko Katawa, Orochi Chris CYS, Altrox the Conqueror, GeneralDragon, theCHELLE-STER., hyperchicks, Libra1, Shippostail, Whitetiger7716, SuperChibis, Sango the kick ass demon slayer, EM, Awesome Rapidash, Mr. E, Cermer, Aerith, Minnie, Rika, Mike The Snowman, merchiewannabe, Natsumi, PurplePride9844, Lazy Kingdom Keyblade, honeybee26, Kayla.**

So that's it for the reviewers, I also wanna thank Natsume and all the creators of Harvest moon, you guys so totally rock. I wanna thank all of the other writers of Harvest moon fanfics whose work has inspired me.

I'm not gonna go for an even bigger speech than the one I already seem to have written, so I guess I'll just say goodbye for now. Parting is such sweet sorrow and all... feel free to write anything to me or whatever, just cos the story's over doesn't mean I don't still appreciate advice and such.

Now this truly is goodbye and goodluck to all you other writers

THE TRUE END... for now...


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